Trial and Error
by quibblerfiction
Summary: In the aftermath of an apocalypse, the world - Titans included - is having trouble recovering. And with a vengeful demon targeting someone close to her, Raven must once again, face the part of her she would rather forget. Pairings: RaeRob Edit: All characters are from the DC universe, but there will be some who aren't in the Cartoon Network show.
1. Post Trauma

Author's Note: K, so I know Teen Titans has been gone a long time. I also know that I ignored the last season and picked up immediately after The End. But the new Teen Titan's show kindled such a fiery, passionate hatred in my heart that I wrote some slightly outdated fanfiction.

Also...never posted here before. Some of my fics are on tumblr, but hey! First time for everything. :) Hope you like it...?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. If I did, Teen Titans Go! would not be a thing that existed in the universe.

* * *

She woke up screaming, just as she had the night before.

And the night before that.

And the night before that.

And every night since she had managed to expel him from earth. It was strange how volatile her emotions were now. Immediately after his defeat, she had felt buoyant, light, even _good_. As if everything that had been weighing her down was now gone and the darkness was expunged from her mind. Then the unexpected loss had gripped her, the confusion, the feeling that as horrible as her previous purpose had been, she was now devoid of one altogether and must surely cease to exist. Meditation and a few fights had pretty much cured this, and now the fear had set in. Fear that he would go after Arella again, fear that he would return to her mind, just as powerful and awesome as he had been two months ago.

Grimacing in frustration, Raven swung her legs over the side of the bed and glanced at the clock on the wall. Ten past three in the morning. Excellent. With a sigh, she crossed her legs, a nexus of invisible energy rising beneath her as she sought the peace of mind only meditation could bring. She was in no condition to fight, not like this. Her powers would race out of her as though they had minds of their own, and then Beast Boy would give her that terrified puppy-dog face of his and Cyborg would frown and Starfire would pelt her with well-meant questions and Robin…shaking her head, she closed her eyes, erasing the anxiety from the surface of her mind, if not the depth.

"Azarath metrion zinthos…"

She hadn't gotten far with this mantra when there was a knock on the door. Opening one irritated eye, she slid the wall aside with a flick of her mind. Robin stood there, as she had somehow known he would.

"I heard you scream."

A sudden and unexpected wave of déjà vu washed through Raven then, so strong that it caught her off-guard. She had screamed before it happened and now she was screaming after the fact, wrenching her friends from their undoubtedly happy dreams. Last time this had happened, the alarm bells had saved her. Now, there was an oppressive silence hovering in the air, gathering like a wraith around the pair of them; Robin inscrutable behind his mask, she obscured by the dim light and a blank expression.

"I'm fine."

She said it because it was expected of her, because she couldn't think of anything else to say, and because she hated attention, especially after she had caused an apocalypse. Robin frowned. Or at least she thought he frowned; it was hard to tell with the mask on. But he had no more idea of how to proceed with this conversation than she did. Luckily perhaps for both of them, a door down the hall slid open and Beast Boy stepped out, clad in striped pajamas and a disgruntled expression.

"Do you people hate sleep or something? I don't see any blinking red lights, so why the _hell _are we up?"

This brief diatribe had the potential to grow into an irritating and comical rant, so Raven cut it short. Her monotone apology was directed at both of them, but she resolved to give Robin a genuine one later as she retreated back into the safety of her dark room. Not that she would ever follow through with that. She _was _sorry. Not just for waking them up, but for shutting them out again, especially after what had just happened.

They deserved to know. They had deserved to know long before any of this had happened. But now, it was all her problem. There was no real danger. She was making it up, inventing, in the confines of her mind, a reality in which her father's fists still closed around her. Suddenly cold, Raven returned to her position and tried to settle back into meditation.

Robin didn't return to his room. He stayed there, outside her door, pressing his forehead against the smooth metal and trying to erase the memory of finding her there, quite literally in hell, stripped of all her power. It had hurt him more than he would have cared to admit. And now, god knew what she was going through. Even beyond his personal concern, Raven was becoming a problem. Slade had gotten away, he had no idea whether or not Trigon was still a threat, and he couldn't allow her to fight if her powers were getting out of control again. With a barely audible sigh, he pounded his fist against her wall before turning and stalking to his office, seeking to bury himself in work and schematics.

Beast Boy watched Robin leave, frowning ever so slightly as he looked from his friend's retreating back to Raven's door. He never knew what to do in these situations. Sometimes it felt like he was the only one in Titan's tower whose emotional baggage could be kept in check. He was resiliently cheerful, something that nobody really appreciated, if truth be told. With a sigh of resignation, he crossed the hall and raised his hand to knock on Raven's door. Strange as it was, she sometimes talked to him when she wouldn't talk to anyone else. Perhaps it was because they weren't all that close; their relationship was casual enough that it allowed them to confide in each other without the embarrassment that would ordinarily accompany such revelations. Not that talking to Raven was by any means an easy task.

Fighting the urge to turn into the smallest animal he could manage – a single-celled organism – Beast Boy managed to knock twice on the door. When it swung open, he had to swallow the nervous desire to crack a joke.

"Raven?"

She had her hood up, so all he could see was the shadow of her chin in the darkness and the glint of her eyes. She was silent. He felt his ears droop instinctively as he noticed the pallor of her skin and the faint tremors in her hands.

"You're having nightmares again, aren't you?"

"It…doesn't matter."

"Yes it does! I mean, well, after…you know…the end of the world and everything…"

He couldn't see her face, but he could practically feel her irritation, and his voice rose in pitch before it tapered off. Raven responded by lowering her hood and fixing him with the blank gaze that he seemed never to grow accustomed to. She looked terrible. The shadows around her eyes were far too prominent, standing out against the ghostly pallor that was waxy at the best of times but was now almost completely bloodless. He winced.

"Raven, you need help."

She barely acknowledged that he had spoken. As the silent seconds ticked past, Beast Boy found himself wondering if she was going to speak at all. Just as he had decided to go back to his room rather than risk retaliation from a nimbus of black energy, she sighed and lowered her previously crossed arms.

"Trigon's gone. His memory haunting me is my business, and I'll deal with it myself. There's no cure but time ."

This was, unmistakably, his cue to leave, which he did. But he didn't sleep that night any better than she did.


	2. I Thought You Should Know First

Authors Note:

Yeah, I'm updating really quickly, but be warned: it may not last. I tend to be erratic about these things.

Disclaimer: Actually, I secretly do own the Teen Titans. I own their SOULS!  
muahahahahahahaha

(no I don't. I don't own anything.)

* * *

Robin was up before anyone else in the tower, as usual. He stood, arms folded across his chest, and stared out at the sunrise as though he had never seen it before. This was a bad sign. Usually, a smile played around his lips and optimism lifted his spirits. Today, he looked grim.

Raven sensed him before she saw him, the warmth of his imprint guiding her into the living room. She didn't speak in the mornings, but he greeted her all the same.

"Hey. Sleep okay?"

There was something wrong in his voice. A brief expansion of her consciousness revealed that she was a main subject in his thoughts, twisted with other imagery – fire and darkness and death. Wincing slightly, she resisted the urge to probe further and instead retreated into the confines of her own mind. To be fair, there was a great deal of fire and darkness and death there too. It still hurt that that was his first impression of her. She didn't bother to answer his question, which may have been rude if it were anyone but Raven, but in this case was typical.

She had just flipped on the kettle when Beast Boy wandered into the room in the form of a housecat, which was one of his preferred forms in the morning. The others trickled in slowly, exchanging sleepy good mornings and fighting good-naturedly over breakfast. Only Raven and Robin were quiet, avoiding each other's gaze as consciously as they were avoiding thoughts that danced along a similar path.

"Okay. No bad guys for the past month, I'm guessing there won't be any today. All in favor of the park say aye!"

Beast Boy already had his hand (claws still extended) in a mock salute, which Starfire and Cyborg both imitated, she making anxious queries about what exactly it meant. Raven looked regretfully from one face to another, then at Robin. Oddly enough, he looked almost as blank as she did as they made their respective excuses. After the others had left, Raven gave him an odd glance.

"Everything okay?"

He frowned slightly, and for the first time, Raven sensed another emotion bubbling below the surface of his mind: anxiety. This was such an uncharacteristic feeling for Robin that she lowered her hood, eyes narrowed.

"What's going on, Robin?"

Despite the mask that hid his eyes from view, she could tell he was looking everywhere but her face.

"Raven…there's something…we need to talk."

Panic gripped her for a moment. Every time someone said those words to her, she knew with idiotic certainty that they had finally decided to reject her, to recognize the evil in her soul and abandon her because of it. The feeling had only worsened since…No. That thought would lead to far worse than blind panic. None of what she was feeling showed on her face, but she was sure her voice would give it away if she spoke, so she just nodded and lowered herself into a cross-legged sitting position on the couch. Robin sat cautiously beside her, looking more agitated that she had seen him in a long while.

"Remember the apocalypse?"

So here it was at last. As if she hadn't punished herself enough, now her friends were punishing her too. Instead of answering, she pressed her lips together and closed her eyes to hide the moisture swimming dangerously close to the surface. His hand hovered near her shoulder, then dropped.

"I…sorry. How could you forget?"

He was being very unlike Robin at the moment. He usually got straight to the point, none of this waffling or hesitation.

"I was going to call a team meeting today, but I thought maybe you should know first."

"Spit it out, Robin."

Galvanized by her voice, he took a deep breath.

"Trigon got away."

Shock drove the shame from her mind, sending her limbs into tingling surreality. Without being aware of it, a black nimbus of energy absorbed a nearby lamp. The shattering glass made Robin jump and swear.

"How do you know?"

It was all she could manage at the moment. Her hands were clenched tightly as she tried in vain to hide the violent tremors that gripped them. This wasn't what she had been expecting. It was, if possible, worse. Vaguely, she was aware that Robin had stood up and was pacing back and forth.

"It's the only thing that makes sense. There was no body, no corporal evidence of him left at all. At first I thought you had destroyed him, but even that would leave some trace. You didn't erase his existence because we all remember him, and then there's…"

He looked almost guilty as his eyes met hers for the first time.

"Well, you. You're still having visions, Raven, he's still in your mind."

She shook her head in denial. Easy, blind denial.

"PTSD, Robin. Nothing more. They're just nightmares."

But she sounded unconvincing, even to her own ears. Robin's voice was almost unnaturally gentle.

"I did some research. I know demons are your specialty, but I did find some things. What you did to him…" Here, the enormous screen flickered to life, a video of that final, terrible battle flashing inexorably across its surface. Raven watched it unwillingly, trying to breathe past the tightness in her chest. Robin remained blissfully unaware of how close she was to losing control. "It banished him from earth. From your home. But it didn't kill him. He could still go after Tamaran or, or…"

"Azarath."

She cut him off without realizing she was speaking out loud. Robin, glancing at her face, stopped midsentence. She was deathly pale, her eyes wide and shimmering with tears, black energy crackling like a cloak around her body.

"Raven?"

"No. No, no, no."

She had been gripping the edge of the couch, but it was disintegrating under her fingers. Robin edged towards her, keeping his eyes fixed on hers.

"It'll be okay. You weakened him. He's recuperating, we can still strike! We'll take him down."

There was conviction in his voice, as usual, but Raven was shaking her head.

"You don't understand. He'll go after Arella. My mother…he'll hurt her again. And then he'll come for me."

Robin shook his head, uncomprehending, which happened far too often with respect to Raven.

"The earth is still protected. He can't get to you."

She lowered her head into her hands, gripping her dark hair with the same black energy that was burning a hole through the carpet.

"Maybe, maybe not. But Arella…she's an innocent. She can't protect herself, she never could."

Here, her voice caught and tears spilled out of her eyes and down her cheeks. Robin, in front of her now, ignored his fear and took her by the shoulders. Somewhat to his surprise, the black energy didn't hurt him. Instead, Raven looked up at his touch, the crackling nimbus of darkness vanishing into her trembling body.

"Then we'll protect her! Look. I know he scares you. But you beat him once, you can do it again. I _know _you Raven, I know you can do this."

She looked away, raising her hood so that she was once again hidden from view.

"I don't have any other choice."

* * *

**toastedCroissants**: My first review! Thanks so much, I'm flattered. I tend to focus a lot on emotion since I'm better at angst than fight scenes. lol. Is this update fast enough for ya? ;)


	3. What Now?

Author's Note: Sorry for the long lead-up, but I thought it was necessary to put in all the background information before we get to the fighting. (And there will be fighting ;)). Also, just for clarity's sake, the Arella-Trigon story line is borrowed from the comic books, where Raven's conception is due to Arella's involvement in a cult that seeks to bring the devil to earth. When Trigon does surface, he rapes Arella, causing Raven's existence. It's mostly that and language that earned this story the T rating. Thanks for the reviews, they're super helpful, especially since I'm new at this. More please?

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the comic books, etc. etc.

* * *

When the others got back later that day, it was to an empty house and a broken lamp.

"Guys? Raven? Robin?"

Beast Boy's voice echoed eerily around the room, but didn't receive a response.

Stafire bent and touched one of the many shard of glass that littered the carpet.

"I wish to know what has happened here."

Cyborg crossed the room and examined the couch, part of which had been burned away.

"You and me both. There isn't enough destruction for a full-on battle, but…"

"There wasn't one." Robin's voice made them all jump.

Starfire's eyes were puzzled as she looked at him, sparkling with an intensity that was rarely present.

"Robin, what has happened?"

He sighed and crossed the room to repeat the monologue he'd made to Raven. She hovered in the corner, unnoticed, feeling their shock, their worry, and their concern for her. That last one in particular made her stomach twist with gratitude and guilt. Nobody noticed her standing there, and she wasn't particularly interested in enlightening them. She wasn't convinced she could keep even a semblance of calm when their anxious questions hit her. Even the sound of her name made her jump and wince. It came from Starfire.

"If the Trigon is indeed still alive, is Raven then in danger?"

Robin rubbed the back of his neck, uncharacteristically uncertain.

"I don't know, Star. She seemed afraid, but…" A frustrated sigh escaped his lips, and Raven flinched as she drew further back into the shadows. 'Afraid', in this instance, was the understatement of the year. "I wish she would let me see what she was thinking, just once."

Beast Boy exchanged a glance with Cyborg.

"Dude, trust me, you do _not _want into Raven's head."

A smirk flickered across her face at that. Their first encounter with Trigon had been far earlier than anyone else's, and it had taken weeks for Cyborg to stop jumping when she used her powers. She didn't really mind people being afraid of her. It was even advantageous more often than not. Robin folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"Be as that may, I'm worried about her. She's always been Trigon's main target, and now that she's banished him…"

"He'll want revenge."

Cyborg finished the sentence when Robin couldn't, and Raven shut her eyes tightly, fighting the memories of her childhood that she would so much rather forget.

_The citadel was undeniably beautiful, its spires defying gravity as they reached for the hazy sky. The walls were punctured by graceful arches, through which sunlight streamed, dappling the cobblestones with a rusty brilliance. Ravan hated the place. _

_"Do not worry, child. The monks will care for you. I cannot."_

_Arella's eyes were huge as she looked down at her daughter. She was beautiful, innocent, and quite literally the spawn of Satan. Raven's lip trembled as she looked at her mother, eyes filling with tears that she had not yet learned to suppress._

_"But mother…"_

_Arella flinched. Rachel looked nothing like her father, but there were still little hints; her supernatural powers, her ability to speak perfectly at a little over two years old, and the red that sometimes flashed in her eyes._

_"I'm sorry. You do not understand what he did to me, but you will one day. And you will understand why I cannot raise you."_

Raven had stood at the entrance to the citadel for a long time, seeking comprehension that was denied to her. Well, now she understood all right, and it made her insides burn. The only reason she was alive was because her mother had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the only reason she was safe was because of her unwilling mother's ingenuity. Arella had left her in the safest place she could manage, but it hadn't worked. He had gotten to Raven nonetheless, gotten in through her mind and tortured her for years until the monks had taught her to control him. To control, but never to extinguish. _I was protected by the monks of Azarath...I was raised by my friends..._

With some effort, she returned to herself, to the conversation at hand. The Titans had, thankfully, abandoned the topic of Raven and moved on to battle tactics. Silently, she stood and melted into the wall behind her. The sudden blackness attracted Robin's attention. She sensed him behind her, following her.

"Were you listening the whole time?"

She paused, but did not turn.

"Not entirely."

"You know, it would be nice to have some advanced warning when you're eavesdropping."

There was humor in his voice, but his tone was layered with a sincerity that she was unprepared for. She turned slowly to face him, lowering the hood of her robe.

"Sorry."

He was taken off guard by the look on her face. He hadn't seen her since that morning, and she seemed to have aged ten years since. Not that he could blame her.

"What?"

Her monotone was even more expressionless than usual, as though it was taking all her energy just to ask the question. Robin shook his head.

"Asking you if you're going to be okay is probably pointless, right?"

The lines around her mouth softened slightly as she floated down until her feet touched the floor.

"Probably, but I appreciate it anyway."

He looked at her for a moment, unable to entirely understand the sudden urge to wrap his arms around her. He almost followed through on the impulse too; Robin wasn't one to hesitate. But he respected her personal space, if only because he was afraid she would hurt him if he didn't. Instead, he asked,

"Anything I can do?"

"Thanks, but I have to handle this alone."

He raised an eyebrow.

"That's what you said last time."

A slow smile touched her lips.

"I meant my emotions, not Trigon. Though I may have to handle him alone too."

She put her index fingers against her temples and leaned against the wall, fighting the urge to teleport out of this situation and onto a planet far, far away. Robin folded his arms across his chest, trying desperately to resist his sudden and unruly urge to brush his fingers along her jaw.

"Will you come back to the meeting? We kind of need you for this."

_If anyone but you had asked me that, I would have refused. _Instead, Raven nodded in a brief acquiescence and melted into blackness, reappearing in the living room, where Beast Boy and Cyborg were arguing.

"Dude! I'm telling you, there is no way I am going into that guy's ear again!"

"Well how else are we supposed to get his attention?"

"I don't know, but being covered in demon earwax was worse than fighting that demon Beast Boy."

Starfire hovered in front of them, looking anxious.

"Friends, please. Robin will determine our tactics. We must wait for his plan for defeating the Trigon."

"No way that spiky-haired little freak is ordering me around this time! He wasn't even there!"

Robin cleared his throat, raising an eyebrow under the mask just as Raven materialized and sank onto the couch, face once again obscured by her hood. The other three titans glanced at each other, unsure of what exactly to do. Starfire was the first to react, albeit in an unhelpful fashion.

"Friend Raven! You are well after learning of the Trigon's escape?"

The look Raven gave her was enough to melt flesh, even from under the hood.

"I'm fine, Starfire. Thanks for asking."

Paling, Starfire moved as far away as she could get.

"Um. That is excellent. You wish me to stop the pestering now yes?"

At that point, Robin saved her from further embarrassment by striding to the front of the room and flicking on the computer systems.

"All right. This meeting is finally in session. Now how are we going to beat this guy?"

* * *

**Blue Emo Bunny:** Thanks! Yeah, I was kinda toying with the pairing. To be honest, I don't really know myself how it's going to turn out.

**theblackbirdsong:** Thank ya kindly. I'm excited too. ;)

**ToastedCroissants:** Lol the pairing confusion is probably because I hadn't decided on a pairing until recently. I'm a huge fan of BB x Rae, since it's canon and super cute, but for this story, RaeRob just worked better. I feel like BB x Rae is only really good when the Titans are a little older and Beast Boy has matured somewhat and gotten over Terra, but nothing's written in stone... Thanks so much for the second review, and for the advice. I changed the spacing right away. :)

**H'sfreedom: **Aww, thanks! 3


	4. Slade

Author's note: Things are about to kick off (finally).

Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not owned by me

* * *

Their tactical discussions went long into the night, and left most of the titans with splitting headaches. It didn't help that they knew virtually nothing about where Trigon was planning to attack and why, or even where he had gone. Raven was of limited help in these discussions; the only thing she was really able to contribute was the fact that if he was targeting Azarath, they had a problem. She explained the situation tiredly, her voice dry and emotionless.

"Azarath can only be accessed through intense meditation. The monks there are pacifists, but they know what my – what Trigon is capable of. I can get in only as long as my emotions are under control. And you all might not be able to get in at all."

This speech was followed by a brief silence during which Robin rubbed a hand along the edge of his jaw, Starfire chewed on her lip, Beast Boy fiddled with his intertwined hands, and Cyborg flipped through his scanners, frowning. Robin was the first to speak.

"Can you teleport us there? Beast Boy and Cyborg have been in your mind before, you've been inside mine, and Starfire meditates with you, it's possible in theory."

Raven shifted uncomfortably, her face still hidden in shadow.

"I could try…needless to say, I don't want the four of you running around inside my mind unless there's no alternative."

She cast a glance at Cyborg and Beast Boy, both of whom looked slightly abashed. Their discussion went further, but Raven said very little. She felt Robin's gaze on her, particularly when they were talking about Azarath, but she just didn't have it in her to pretend for him. She couldn't help feeling his concern though, and it grew as the conversation wore on. Eventually, she sighed and centered herself, blocking out the emotions that were battering at her mind. Just as she was considering excusing herself for some much-needed meditation, the alarm bell went off.

None of the Titans were expecting it, and they all jumped as Robin dashed to the scanners and typed in the security code, frowning underneath his mask.

"I just hope it's not…Slade."

Despite her defenses, Raven felt the sudden blast of anger from him as he looked at the tiny 'S' symbol in the east quadrant of the city. As the other Titans raced out of the door, she placed a hand on Robin's shoulder, stopping him.

"You sure we can take him?"

Robin stared at her for a few seconds, but her expression remained as inscrutable as ever.

"I can handle Slade."

Raven nodded silently and phased through the floor. She put a lot into that nod, into her eyes. Her trust in his self-control, her acknowledgement of him as a leader, and her worry for not only his safety, but that of the entire team. Despite his defensiveness, Robin invested in a few deep breaths before dashing after her.

Normally, Raven waited for her teammates when she was teleporting, using their emotional signatures to guide her timing. But today was not a normal day. She appeared before Slade, who was waiting with his arms folded across his chest while a building burned behind him. She spared the fire a glance, but remained focused on Trigon's latest minion. He spoke first, as usual.

"My, my, Raven, you don't look so good. Have you had time to meditate lately?"

_Stay calm. _Despite her best efforts, she began to feel Rage stirring in her chest.

"As it happens, no. All the more dangerous for you, Slade."

To her satisfaction, her voice was even. Slade dusted off the already gleaming shoulder of his metal suit.

"A pity."

"Why are you here?"

"Believe it or not, Raven, not on your dear daddy's orders. I learned my lesson the first time."

Her head was pounding at this point, and she spoke through gritted teeth.

"He is not my father."

"Really? Then he didn't marry your mother? Didn't _rape _her?"

"Don't. Say. Another. Word."

She was coming apart; mention of her mother always did this to her. Her reasons for going after Slade alone – getting more information before the fight broke out – seemed feeble now that she was actually fighting for control.

"Or what? Poor Raven will attack me with all her might? Daddy dearest isn't in you, any more Raven, your powers are weak."

She began to laugh, laugh maniacally, and in the recesses of her mind, she was aware that Rage was taking over again. She knew her eyes were glowing red, darkness was expanding under her cloak, and her voice was echoing frighteningly.

"Is that what he told you, _Slade? _Well he lied."

Slade's eyes widened slightly; evidently, this was actually a surprise for him.

"What's the matter? Did I take you by surprise?"

"Wait! Don't you want to know why I'm here? I came to help you, Raven."

His voice was seductive, persuasive. He may even have been telling the truth, but she was beyond reason now.

"Too bad there's no one to help _you._"

Her smile was widening, her teeth sharpening, and a second pair of eyes opened up beneath her real ones. Robin arrived just in time to see her launch herself at Slade, tendrils of dark energy wrapping themselves around his arms as the horrible projection of his friend grew, tall as the buildings behind her.

"Raven!"

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviewing, etc. I really appreciate it.

**Karali: **thanks man. :)


	5. Robots and Hand Grenades

Author's Note: Hmmm. Don't have much to say about this next chapter. Reviews would be nice. :)

Disclaimer: I'm in no way trying to figure out how to wrest creative control from the writers of the horrendous new show. Nope. Not at all.

* * *

His voice echoed off the nearby buildings, his gaze fixed intently on the swirling void that was slowly encasing Slade. Vaguely, he was aware of Starfire hovering nearby, starbolts at the ready, and the other Titans behind him, but the only sound he could really here was his ragged breathing.

"She'll destroy him…and herself."

A part of him, the part that lost control when Slade was around, egged her on, hoped for that horrible darkness to crush the life out of his worst enemy. But the stronger part of him, the part that had snatched Raven from hell, told him to stop her.

"Starfire! Can you get me close to her?"

The alien girl swooped in front of him, eyes worried.

"But, Robin, she is…"

"_Now, _Star."

_She won't bounce back from this. _Raven had told him once, briefly, what it was like to lose control, what was at stake. Her sanity hung by a fragile thread when she was like this, and he couldn't let her kill her better self. After searching his face for a moment, Starfire nodded and grasped him by the wrists as she rocketed up to the head of the not-Raven. As he swung through the air, Robin released two grappling hooks so that one embedded itself into each of the buildings nearest to the battle. He tensed as Starfire let go and his wires took over, suspending him between the buildings so that he was hanging between them, staring Raven's distorted face.

"Raven! I know you're in there!"

He had to shout to be heard over the wind, but the darkness slowly encasing Slade's body slowed, then paused.

"Listen to me. This isn't you. You have control! Take it back!"

Robin remained convinced long afterword that he could have prevented what happened next if he had been given just another moment with her. In another clutch of heartbeats, she would have returned to her normal self, and in fact she was just beginning to when Slade fought back. Breaking free of the darkness that sheathed his torso, he threw a small grenade at the rest of the team.

It blew up against a nearby building, sending flaming pieces of shrapnel into the calm, nighttime air. Raven growled, - Robin would never have thought she was capable of making the sound that came out of her mouth – and extended herself towards the super villain, shadows gathering like wraiths in her wake.

The other Titans paused with horror written on their faces. Robin threw himself out of the way, just as crackling bolts of ebony energy snapped the cords that held him in the air. Beast Boy, suddenly a pterodactyl, caught him before he hit the ground and lowered him gently to the pavement.

"What now?"

Robin straightened up and opened his mouth, but before he could respond, several Slade-bots streamed out of a nearby alley and answered the question for him. Everything melted into a blur of blocking and retaliating for a while as he took down the robots surrounding him. Nearby, Starfire shot bolts of green energy through robot torsos, Beast Boy transformed so quickly, he was a blur of motion, and Cyborg fought with the confidence of someone with a sonic cannon built into his arm. With a detached sense of pride, Robin realized they were on top form tonight, and made a mental note to tell them about it later.

Another robot came out of nowhere and tried to take advantage of his brief distraction, swinging a fist towards his unprotected chest. Robin knocked it aside with his staff, already gasping for breath though the fight had barely started.

Trying to catch his enemy off-guard, he put his acrobatic training to good use and back flipped into the air over the robot's head. The thing was too fast for him, and turned just as he landed, trying to land a kick. The metal foot swung just where his head had been a second before; he felt the whistle of air ruffle his hair. Grunting with frustration, he swung his staff up. It glanced off of the robot's metal armor, but caught the thing off balance, giving Robin time to finish it off with a well-placed explosive boomerang.

"Robin!"

Starfire's voice made him look up…and freeze where he stood. Slade, having realized that he could not fight the spectre version of Raven, had thrown a small device straight into her chest.

"No!"

The cry left his mouth even as he started running towards her. A detached part of his mind – the part that had been ruthlessly trained by his surrogate father – told him drily that he would never get there in time. The most he would do is manage to get caught at the edge of the explosion. Nonetheless, he ran, faster than he had ever run before.

He was too late.

The explosion sent shattered pieces of concrete flying in every direction. The Titans scattered as chunks of city street rained down around them. All except for Robin, that is. He stayed where he was, frozen to the spot, and watched Raven fall as though it were a slow-motion replay in a bad movie. It was eerily reminiscent of the events leading up to the apocolypse, and just as horrifying to Robin. He couldn't even get close to her, let alone try to catch her. She hit the splintered ground with a muted thud, falling nearly thirty feet, from where her shadow-self had been.

"No."

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Thanks for reading. 3


	6. I've Got a Pulse

Author's Note: Sorry for the super short chapter...it was either a super short one or a super long one. Review?

Disclaimer: I have no control of the Teen Titans (do I have to write a disclaimer for EVERY chapter?)

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He wouldn't believe that she was dead, couldn't believe it until he saw for himself. _She has powers. She's taken worse than this. If she could live through hell, she can live through this. _Even so, an irrational sense of panic was threatening to consume him. As soon as he could move, Robin resumed his headlong dash toward her. A wave of heat hit him as he got close to where the explosion had been, where Raven lay frighteningly still surrounded by small fires. Ignoring the flames that licked the side of his boots, Robin knelt beside her, trying to still the trembling in his hand as he removed a glove and reached for her wrist.

A disbelieving smile spread across his face when he felt it, faint and fluttering, but unmistakably present. Still holding Raven's wrist with one hand, he whipped out his communicator with the other.

"Cyborg! I've got a pulse. We've got to get her to the sick bay right away."

Cyborg's voice was grim.

"On my way."

Flipping his communicator shut, Robin stroked her hair, which was singed around the edges. His every instinct was telling him to gather her unresponsive limbs in her arms, but he was afraid of hurting her. Instead, he contented himself with kneeling beside her.

"You're going to be okay. Just hang on."

When Raven was hurt this badly, she normally reverted to a healing trance. But the seconds passed, and she didn't move. Robin felt his anxiety increasing with each clutch of heartbeats.

"Come on. Heal yourself. I know you can."

"How bad is it? Is she – oh, man."

Beast Boy had landed beside him, an uncharacteristically somber expression on his face. Cyborg was there soon after, and Starfire, whose eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Cyborg frowned as he punched commands into his left arm.

"She's got some internal injuries, and some broken bones…vitals look okay for transport though. I'll have to run a full diagnostic when we get back to the tower."

Robin straightened up, feeling the familiar efficiency that descended over him when he was this far beyond panic.

"Beast Boy, what'll give us the smoothest ride back?"

Garfield, who had been staring at Raven with a look of disbelief, shook his head a few times, then focused on Robin.

"Yeah. Right. Got it."

In a moment, he had become a pterodactyl again and was allowing Cyborg to pad the inside of his claws with cushions from a nearby hotel lobby. It took some maneuvering to get Raven into the improvised airlift, but Beast Boy took off the moment they did, Robin in one claw, Raven in the other. Cyborg and Starfire followed close behind.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

**toastedCroissants: **You always have such constructive reviews! It makes me happy. :) Apparently, I'm updating daily, sooo...though you still don't really get to know what happens to Raven. Sorry. ;)


	7. Wake Up and Smell the Relief

Author's Note: Yay for hospital scenes! There are soooo many on this site already, but I'm kind of a sucker for em'. sorrynotsorry ;)

Disclaimer: etc.

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The first thing she felt was pain. The second was a hand over her own, a calloused one that trembled ever so slightly. The lights were bright, far too bright for her liking, and opening her eyes proved impossible for the first few seconds. With an intensity that surprised her, she wished she was in the quiet and solace of her room. Her nice, _dark _room.

It took a few seconds for her eyes to start working, and when they did, she was afraid of what she might see. One glance at her torso was enough to justify her fear. Her modesty was preserved, but only because white linen bandages were wrapped around her chest, obscured by a white hospital gown. From the feeling of her wounds, she guessed that she was covered in first and second degree burns. She tried, in the first few seconds after waking up, to determine the true extent of her injuries through meditation, but her mind refused to cooperate.

_Morphine. _

It must have been much worse than a few burns then. Cyborg knew that drugs like this inhibited her ability to meditate. She lay there for another few seconds, unwilling to announce her consciousness until she knew exactly who was in the room. It took far more energy than it should have, but she managed to extend her consciousness just far enough to brush against emotions. There was only one person there with her.

Well that was unexpected. Usually, the entire team gathered in the hospital bay when one of them was injured. Soon after Raven had extended her mind, she wished she hadn't. She was fairly sure her companion was Robin, but Robin's mind never felt like this. He was a swirling vortex of confusion, fear, and most of all, darkness. All centered around her. She coughed slightly and made a vague effort to sit up.

"That bad, huh?"

Robin's thoughts flashed hot, then cold as he turned his face toward her. She felt him making a concentrated effort to be calm. With the strange knack he had for knowing exactly what she needed, he related her injuries in a dry, emotionless voice even as she withdrew from his mind.

"You've got several second degree burns. Cyborg thinks you put up an involuntary force field, because they should have been much worse. But you also…" He cleared his throat. "You fell. Thirty feet or so, and you landed on your back. Your spine is fractured, your wrist is pretty much shattered, and you've got some broken ribs. You did have internal bleeding, but Cyborg fixed it for you in surgery."

He anticipated her next question before she asked it, for which she was grateful, because she wasn't too sure she could speak without crying just then.

"The others stayed up with you for a while, but I told them to get some sleep. If we have to fight Slade and Trigon again, they need their rest."

Raven looked at the ceiling for a little while, then at Robin, then back at the ceiling. Because she didn't know what else to do, she extended herself towards Robin's consciousness. The torrent of hurt there was so deep that she withdrew sharply. He caught the look on her face and said, by way of explanation,

"I thought you were dead."

Before she could think of an appropriate response to his sudden sentimental swing, the door slid open to reveal a very anxious Starfire.

"Friend Raven! You are awake!"

Her expression was joyous as she sped into the room. Raven saw the hug coming and winced at the thought of her raw flesh scraping against Tamaranian arms. Luckily for her, Robin had caught Starfire by the shoulders, placing his body protectively in front of the bed.

"Woah, there Star. She's hurt, and one of your hugs is enough to asphyxiate even Cyborg."

"What's enough to asphyxiate Cyborg?"

The half-robot walked in, arms folded across his chest, and raised an eyebrow at Raven.

"And who said you could go messing with my patient?"

Robin sputtered inarticulately for a moment, and was promptly shoved aside by a steel hand.

"Spiky haired little idiot may be the leader, but I run the show in this sick bay, understand?"

Starfire and Robin both sighed and stepped back, but not without audible grumbling. Cyborg smiled gently down at Raven, who had been watching the proceedings with amusement.

"Glad to see you awake."

"How long have I been out?"

"You came out of surgery yesterday. It was touch and go for a while, but I'd say around twenty four hours."

"Twenty four hours?!"

He shot her a quelling look, and as the pain stabbed at her chest, she understood why.

"You nearly didn't wake up at all."

She winced.

"Okay, point taken."

He was fiddling with the wires attached to her arm. From experience, she knew they were monitoring everything from her heart rate to her white blood cell count.

"You gave me morphine."

"Couldn't take the risk. You're usually hovering or something when you heal yourself, and you weren't this time. I didn't know that you wouldn't feel me stitchin' up your insides."

She nodded in a quiet acquiescence, but felt a slight squirm of discomfort. She hadn't been healing herself.

"So, what exactly…happened?"

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Thanks for reading! xx

Luna Storm13: Thanks man! Hope you liked this bit.


	8. Memory Lane

Ready for a longish chapter? Well you're getting one. Then some flashbacks. Then some fighting.

Review pleeeeease. :)

Disclaimer: Raven owns her own soul...for now.

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"So, what exactly…happened?"

The others glanced at each other apprehensively. All except Beast Boy, who launched into an overly dramatic explanation, ignoring the groans of his teammates.

"Well what we got to Slade, you were all huge and glowy like "Too bad there's no one to help you, _Slade!" _Robin was all like "Starfire, get me close to her" and then he tried to talk you out of the killing, but Slade was like "KABLOOEY" and then we had to fight the Robots and then Starfire was like "Robin!" and we looked, and…and…"

She raised an eyebrow, noting his discomfited expression.

"Slade threw a grenade. Right into your chest, and then you weren't…moving."

Raven glanced at Robin, who had let go of her hand as soon as everyone else walked in. A muscle was jumping in his jaw.

"Slade?"

Beast Boy rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah…um…he ran away."

"He _what?"_

She had never known Slade to back down before, especially where she was concerned. Not unless he had some kind of diabolically clever plan. Which he probably did. Cyborg folded his arms across his chest.

"I thought that was weird. I mean, Slade's a creepy dude, but he's not a coward. And he'd just taken down one of us, he had a shot."

Robin cracked his knuckles, his scowl so firmly etched in his face that it gave him an almost comical look.

"He did _not _have a shot."

She glared at Cyborg.

"And he didn't take me down. That wasn't me."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes.

"Right. It was just the creepy four-eyed version of you."

She tried to be angry at that, but the morphine in her system was making it hard to concentrate. She glanced at Cyborg, who was fiddling with the wires embedded in her skin.

"Any chance we can lower the dosage? I can't feel my feet."

He shrugged.

"You're the boss, it's your medication. It's gonna hurt though."

She glared at nobody in particular.

"Pain is in the mind. Not being able to meditate will do far more damage than a lack of desensitizing medication."

Cyborg lifted his hands to mid-chest in a mock-surrender, then pushed some buttons in the side of the computer. Robin was on her other side, looking through her vitals. She wished he wouldn't.

"You need to rest now."

It wasn't a question. Raven scowled at him, unwilling to admit that he was right.

"I'm fine."

He frowned.

"Normally, I let you do what you want. But not this time. Guys, go get some rest."

The team filed out, Starfire leaving Silkie at the foot of Raven's bed.

"I have read that the companionship of a beloved pet will sometimes aid with recovery. Rest well, friend Raven."

She wasn't entirely sure a maggot constituted a 'beloved pet', but she appreciated the sentiment, and managed a small smile for the Tamaranian princess. Robin stayed where he was as they left, moving only to press a few buttons on the computer screen. Raven shot him a look.

"I'm staying."

She sighed.

"Suit yourself."

"Unless…you don't want me here."

She was taken aback by that.

"No, I…I do. I appreciate it."

She shifted slightly and winced as her body protested.

"Ow."

In this case, 'ow' was a massive understatement. Her skin felt as though it were melting off of her bones, and her broken ribs were making it difficult to breathe. Robin frowned.

"What do you need?"

She started to shrug, then thought the better of it.

"I don't…I don't know. Trigon's blocking my healing powers. Or at least, the thought of him is."

He sat down on the edge of the bed. For the first time, Raven realized he was dressed in ordinary clothes. The mask was still there, as usual, but his jeans and sweater combination was so foreign that she nearly laughed. Nearly. He fiddled with one of his boomerangs, avoiding her eyes.

"Why?"

"I can't explain it. If you had known me on Azarath…maybe you would understand. Or maybe you wouldn't. The monks didn't, and they saw it every day."

"Saw what?"

She didn't respond for a long moment. When the silence stretched, Robin turned his head to look at her. Raven sighed as she felt the well-meaning anxiety streaming from his consciousness.

"Trigon has access to my mind. That's why Arella…why she…" She took a deep breath, longing for the protective hood that would hide her face. "That's why he created me. For access. Most dimensions have banished him, so he needed a portal. A portal to a dimension he could take by force."

She paused for a moment, trying to figure out how much to tell him. There had been so little time to explain things before the first apocalypse. Not that she had been willing to explain anyway. Now, she wasn't sure she was capable of taking a trip down memory lane, even with Robin. Especially with Robin. She pressed her lips together and resisted the impulse to reach for his hand.

"I don't talk about this. Ever."

He looked at her for a clutch of heartbeats, eyes inscrutable behind the mask.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours?"

A small, reluctant smile tugged at Raven's lips, and he imitated the expression. She couldn't help marveling at how well he understood her. So few people did.

"Deal."

There was another pause, then Robin pulled a chair up to the side of her bed and sat down, putting his feet up on her sheets. She raised an eyebrow, and he followed suit. A challenge.

"Sorry, but you've got to go first. You know, because of the whole 'the world might end again' thing."

Raven smiled, but hid it fairly quickly.

"Only if you get your feet off my bed first."

He folded his arms across his chest.

"Nope."

Instinctively, she kicked at him, and was rewarded with nearly debilitating pain. Her mouth twisted involuntarily as the breath left her lungs, and dark energy coiled itself uselessly around her IV drip. Robin tensed and grabbed her hand before he had thought about what he was doing.

"Hey. Sorry. You're okay. You're fine. Just relax, and you'll be fine."

His voice was determinedly steady, but she could feel him coiled like a spring beside her, even see an echo of herself through his eyes. Her breath came in short gasps for the next few seconds, but the fit eventually subsided and she realized that her grip on his hand was enough to cut off circulation. Slowly, she relaxed, and found herself embarrassed more than anything else.

"Well that was stupid."

He didn't release her hand.

"You okay now?"

"As okay as is humanly possible…where was I?"

It took him a minute to return to the conversation; his mind was whirring with ideas that would aid in her recovery.

"Robin. Don't."

He looked sheepishly at her, leaning forward in his chair.

"Right. Sorry. Azarath."

She nodded, resisting the urge to teleport out of the room and far, far away.

"Azarath."

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Blue Emo Bunny: Well, here it is ;) Yeah, I tried to keep her as close to the original show as possible. It's just more realistic that way. Thanks for the review!

Thanks for reading, hope you liked it, more soon, etc. :)


	9. Confessional

K, remember how I was apologizing for the long chapter last time? Yeah, this one's longer. sorrynotsorry

Disclaimer: All characters mentioned are property of...DC Comics or something? I actually don't know who owns them any more.

I took some creative liberties with Raven's backstory. I haven't read almost any of the comics, but I followed the story line as closely as I could, just with a few embellishments. It's not entirely accurate. Review Please!

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"Focus,_ Raven. Find your center."_

_The child was barely seven years old. Her eyes were darker than they would be when she grew up; an inky blue that was close to black. Her hair was dark, unkempt, and tangled and her limbs seemed a bit too long for her body. She fidgeted under the stern gaze of the monk watching her._

_"Why?"_

_The monk sighed. _

_"You know why, child."_

_"No I don't!"_

_Suddenly, passionate, she opened her eyes. _

_"You've told me I'm dangerous, you've told me I could do terrible things, but I can't! I can't do anything! I can't even leave here, I can't even find my mother, I can't make her _look _at me! If I had terrible powers, I could make people treat me like a kid instead of what…what this is."_

_Tears were streaming freely down her face, but her words were about as effective as her foot-stamping routine was. The monk sighed and shook his head. _

_"Child, you must calm your heart. Find control."_

_She shook her head._

_"I won't! I WON'T! I…I…"_

_And for the first time, her eyes glowed red._

Raven didn't begin right away. First, she sent a tendril of dark energy into her room and grabbed an old book off the shelf. There was nothing spectacular about it. Unlike most of her collection, there were no runes carved into its spine, no arcane spells surrounding the cover. It was bound in plain linen, with no markings of any kind. It was her security blanket, and she hugged it to her chest, ignoring the thousands of shrieking complaints from her arms. Robin's gaze lingered on the book, but he didn't comment and she didn't offer an explanation.

"My mother was human. As human as you are, but she was unhappy. She joined a cult in Gotham when she was a little younger than we are, and…"

She paused to look at Robin, whose face was inscrutable.

"This is a long story."

"But one we both need to hear."

She nodded slowly, picking at her hospital gown in an entirely un-Raven like gesture.

"Arella was born Angela Roth. When she joined the cult, she was…convinced to take part in a ceremony intended to bring Trigon to earth. I don't know the details. I…didn't want to. I just know that they succeeded, but Trigon appeared in human form. Ang- Arel- my mother, she married him. Again, I didn't want the details when I talked to the monks."

"Monks?"

"They come in later. Anyway, Angela didn't truly believe she was marrying a demon. From what I understand, he seduced her, and they ended up husband and wife. After that, she found out what he really was, but she was already in too deep. He raped her."

She spat the words out through clenched teeth in an effort to keep her voice dispassionate. Even so, she had to stop for a moment and knot her trembling hands together in her lap. Robin, watching her, sensed that his interruption would only make this more difficult, and so he was quiet. He had never known much about Raven, and he was beginning to understand why. He was also beginning to understand something else, something he didn't want to confront. Not yet. Even so, it was hard to think of anything else as he looked at her eyes, shadowed and red-rimmed, and at the curtain of hair that partially hid her from view. After a few deep breaths, she began to speak again, sounding as though she had a bad head cold.

"When she found out she was pregnant, she knew what she was carrying."

Despite his previous intention not to interrupt, Robin shook his head vehemently.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't refer to yourself as a thing. You're a person."

She looked up at him, the anguish in her gaze piercing him for a fleeting moment before it was hidden again.

"Arella didn't think I would be. She tried to kill herself. Took a bunch of pills and collapsed in an alley. She didn't want the demon child, and she didn't want herself. Not after that."

She paused again there, and despite himself, Robin reached out and brushed a tear from her cheek. She glanced up at his touch, but didn't react as she normally would have (with a few choice expletives and a wall of dark energy). Instead, she took a deep breath and continued speaking, her voice very carefully stripped of all emotion.

"Instead of dying, she woke up on another dimension. Azarath. The monks there had been watching Trigon – and watching her. They were the ones that managed to imprison him in the first place. They took pity on my mother, and when I was born on Azarath, they took pity on me too. Well, I prefer to think they did. They also wanted to keep an eye on Trigon's spawn. They knew I was dangerous, you see."

She shook her head.

"Robin, I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't keep going. Not right now. Maybe not ever."

He had been listening with his head buried in his hands, but now he glanced up. Raven saw that he had removed his mask; it left small red marks around his eyes, the eyes that she so rarely saw.

"Okay. If that's all you can take, I understand."

She was distracted, fighting to control her wayward emotions, but she couldn't help feeling the compassion emanating from him. It wasn't tinged with pity. His level of respect for her wouldn't allow that.

"I know you do."

Her voice was soft, grateful. They sat in silence for another moment, during which Raven looked down at her hands and Robin looked at Raven.

"I understand, but…"

She sighed.

"But Trigon's threatening earth again and you need to know everything about him."

Her voice was bitter, but not resentful. She loathed her father for everything he had done to her, but she kept her secrets clutched to her chest. That meant, in large part, that she kept his secrets safe too. Robin placed his hands over hers, steadying them.

"I can find it somewhere else. I can't make you do this before you're ready."

She met his gaze, then looked back down at her lap.

"I've had three years, Robin. I don't think I'll ever be ready. So here."

She thrust the book at him and his hands closed around it instinctively.

"What is it?"

"The reason I don't let anybody in my room."

His eyes widened.

"Are you sure you want to give it to me?"

"No. But I don't have…he hasn't left me a choice. That's the diary I kept on Azarath. The monks told me I had to have a channel. It was a technique to keep my emotions in check. Not that it worked."

She shut her eyes briefly, shaking her head.

"You're going to feel a bit of what I felt as you read. It may be alarming at first, but it's just an imprint left by my uncontrolled powers. You're safe."

She felt him torn between concern for her and an eagerness to delve into the research he was so adept at. She smiled faintly.

"Go. I'm going to pass out soon anyway."

Richard hesitated, then squeezed her hand before crossing to the door.

"Robin?"

He paused, eyes worried as he looked back at her.

"I can count on you not to show that to anyone else, right?"

"Of course. And I can count on you not to die on me, right?"

"Maybe."

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Yay! Some action to come...dundundun.

toastedCroissants: Thanks for the review, as usual, super constructive. I try really hard to keep the characters from the show. They're the ones I fell in love with. ;) Hope this chapter answered some of your RaeRob suspicions.


	10. Healing

Sorry, guys, the next two chapters are kinda slow. But they're crucial to the story, so be patient with me, and reviews are always welcome. ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. *sniff*

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The door to his study slid open with a nearly inaudible grating sound, the sleek metal protesting just slightly as it slid into the wall. The book in Robin's hands felt unnecessarily heavy, as if Raven's thoughts and memories were weighing him down just as much as they had her. She was instilled in this little object, steeped in the pages onto which she had placed her thoughts and feelings. It was much more than a diary; it was a channel, and Robin was not at all sure that he could invade her privacy like this, even with permission. Slowly, he placed the book dead center on his desk. He didn't open it. Two hours passed, during which he managed to find distraction after distraction, all the while glancing at the linen bound cover.

Finally, after a useless foray into arcane texts about demon origins, Robin stood up and left his office. Normally, he was able to mindlessly absorb himself in his work, playing recordings and videos as a constant hum in the background as he devoted himself entirely to studying and decoding his enemies. But the footage he had of Raven fighting her father and Slade was too painful to watch over and over again. It felt wrong somehow to treat this as clinically as he did everything else, even if he knew it was necessary. He wandered down the silent halls of Titan's Tower, appreciating the quiet and peace of mind he found in the echoing stillness. After about ten minutes, he found himself back at the entrance to the hospital wing.

The door slid open at his touch, and he looked at Raven's sleeping form. Telling himself that her vitals needed checking, he crossed the room and looked at the screens that laid out her injuries so dispassionately. She looked as well as could be expected on paper, her heart rate relatively steady despite her irregular breathing. He glanced down at her, feeling his chest tighten. She was stirring slightly in her sleep, hovering a few inches off the bed one moment, then sinking back down with a barely audible whimper the next.

"You're trying to heal yourself."

He whispered it to her, receiving no response but a twitch from her fingertips. Operating out of instinct rather than logic, Robin reached out and touched her hand, and at the same time extended his mind. Ever since she had saved him from the toxicity in Slade's mask, they had had a bond. He had sometimes felt the spikes in her emotions, particularly at night when she was fighting her ever-present nightmares. But trying to do it purposely was entirely another matter. It felt strange, like he was wading through slowly thickening concrete. He could feel her nearby, but couldn't quite access her mind, nor was he sure what he was trying to accomplish.

It felt as though something had enveloped her mind, something black and red and inflexible. It was flickering. He could almost see it in his peripheral vision.

Again operating out of instinct, the next time he saw the thing waver, he launched himself at it. If somebody had asked him later what he had done, he wouldn't have been able to tell them anything except that it had taken every ounce of his strength and concentration. His hands tightened on the railing around Raven's bed, knuckles turning white as he tried to get rid of the thing. As he did so, his teammate rose into the air, this time almost a foot off of the bed. Blue energy that Robin remembered from all the times Raven had healed him enveloped her frame. He was shaking now; whatever he was fighting off was fighting back. He felt a stirring in Raven's mind as she joined his efforts. She trembled in midair, fine tremors causing the blue energy around her to flicker alarmingly.

This went on for what felt like forever. At some point, Robin glanced at the monitors built into the wall and grinned disbelievingly. Somehow, she was healing. He was helping, and she was healing. A relief so strong it was almost physical swept over Robin, and he redoubled his attempts to ward off the thing. But even he had a finite amount of energy, and he eventually collapsed, his vision going gray. He had just enough time to see Raven lower gently back onto the hospital bed before he blacked out beside her.

The next morning, Robin awoke to a splitting headache and the soft beeping of the monitors around him. Somehow, he had ended up on the hospital bed just beside Raven, still fully dressed and maskless. Raven herself was sitting up in bed and watching him. Something about the expression on her face made him nervous. It was as though she was trying very hard to conceal some sort of emotion, probably anger. At him. He groaned, rubbing his temples, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Raven folded her arms across her chest.

"You know, it's very rude to enter someone's mind without permission."

He looked at her, trying to uncover exactly how angry she was, and how likely she was to attack him.

"Bit rich coming from you."

Something that may have been a smile flickered at the corner of her mouth, but it was gone before he could decipher it.

"I'm an empath. I sense emotions involuntarily. It is _not _the same thing as actually diving into someone's thoughts. I've only done that once. With you. To help you."

He raised his eyebrows at her.

"And I wasn't helping?"

At that, she relented, smiling with genuine warmth.

"You did. I don't know how, but you did. I may even be able to walk around today…Thank you."

* * *

Jordanals: Thanks so much! All my goals for this fic have been met. Thank you for reviewing, it made me happy.

lunastorm13: I think your review was for chapter eight, but I didn't see it until now. :/ weird. Anyway, thank you! I'm so glad you've been following the story.


	11. You Need Convincing

Author's Note: Hoorah for character development...? Okay, I know it was a little boring. Things are going to pick up, I promise.

Disclaimer: ugh.

* * *

The hospital room was silent, uncomfortably so. Raven hated it here; it was too sterile. There was a pause during which Robin stood up and stretched, rubbing at his neck, which was sore. She gave him a once-over, eyes resting for an instant too long on his lean muscles.

"I'm sorry you woke up here, I only had the energy to levitate you onto the hospital bed."

He knew what that kind of effort must have cost her, and was touched.

"Thank you."

She nodded briefly, then braced herself against the edge of the bed. He saw what she was about to do an instant before she did it and was at her side in a moment, grasping her arm.

"Two days ago, you were blasted out of the air by a hand grenade. An army level hand grenade. You do not get to stand up yet."

She glared at him, her good mood evaporating as quickly as it had come.

"You can help me or you can not help me. Either way, I'm getting out of this fucking bed."

He frowned, but after a thirty second staring contest, let go of her arm. She swung her legs gingerly over the edge of the bed, and he winced at the half-healed burns and bruises that still covered them. After a deep breath, Raven placed her bare feet on the floor and stood up, promptly swaying sideways. Wordlessly, Robin caught her before she fell and draped her arm over his shoulders, supporting her. He tried to tell himself that he was just helping her, but the warmth of her skin against his was proving to be extremely distracting. She looked at the floor, a slight blush heating her cheeks.

"Thanks."

"So where are we going?"

She pointed at her hospital gown.

"My room. I'd like to put on some normal clothes please."

The walk was a slow one, mostly because Raven refused to let him carry her. As she pointed out rather sourly, she had to learn how to walk again sometime, and she wanted to do it while there was still morphine in her system. Once there, they ran into a problem. She refused to let him in, but was still incapable of making the trip herself. As a compromise, she let him help her to her bed, then made him wait outside while she changed. As he let go of her, he gave her a meaningful glance.

"I'm hoping you're not planning on putting on your uniform."

She folded her arms across her chest, and he couldn't help noticing how pale she was after the short trip down the hall.

"No guarantees."

He sighed, knowing that was the best he was going to get, and left her there to lean against the wall of her room. A crash and the sound of her monotone swearing made it very difficult for him to remain there, but the thought of what she might be dressed in – or not dressed in – kept him where he was. Five minutes later, the door slid aside to reveal Raven hovering above the floor, one hand pressed against her still-sore ribs. She was wearing black jeans and an oversized sweater, also black. He had almost never seen her in normal clothes, and was surprised that his attraction to her actually increased when she wasn't wearing the skintight black leotard.

"You're floating."

She winced and lowered herself to the ground.

"I'm reserving it for emergencies; it takes a lot of strength. And I don't have much at the moment."

He frowned slightly, but she didn't see it as he had replaced his mask.

"I'm carrying you this time."

"I healed quite a bit last night, Robin…thanks to you. I don't need to be treated like an invalid any longer."

"Raven, your lips are white."

She scowled and turned her face away.

"A little pain never killed anyone."

"You know that's not true."

But he knew better than to push her too far on this. She was touchy today, with good reason. She didn't know he hadn't read her diary, and if there was one thing Raven hated, it was feeling vulnerable. Stripped of both her emotional defenses and her physical ones was taking a toll on her already limited capacity for patience.

"Just help me to the kitchen, okay?"

He did as she asked, and the walk was filled with awkward silence. He thought he knew why, but he waited until the kettle was on and she was seated at the table before broaching the subject.

"I haven't read your diary."

She glanced at him, surprised that he had known what she was thinking.

"Why not?"

Robin always seemed certain about everything from his breakfast plans to his battle strategies, but now he looked discomfited, even unsure.

"I don't know. It felt wrong."

She raised an eyebrow.

"That's never stopped you before."

He grimaced. That was hitting below the belt.

"This is different."

She looked down at the table.

"I'm sorry. That was cruel. But, Robin, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me, you have to read that diary. What you did last night was…well, I'm very grateful. But you don't understand what it was yet, and I can't…"

Raven's voice broke, and she looked down at the table. He could practically feel her desire for the protective covering of her hood.

"I can't explain it to you. You have to read that book. Not that I'm not glad you didn't."

It looked like she wanted to say more, but at that point, she was engulfed in a hug that smelled faintly of strawberries.

"Ow…Starfire…you're hurting me."

The Tamaranian was clearly trying to be gentle, but her raw skin still chafed under the iron grip.

"Apologies, friend Raven, but I was glad to see you out of bed! What miraculous influence has brought about this change?"

Beast Boy appeared on the other side of the table, smiling widely.

"You healed yourself! I knew you could do it."

She smiled faintly.

"Thanks to Robin."

"I knew that little idiot would go behind my back." Cyborg shot his leader a filthy glance, but his anger soon evaporated. "But I'm glad you're all right, Rae."

Starfire was zooming around the kitchen, pulling ingredients out of cupboards that looked suspicious at best.

"What is it that you require, friend? Thropgark? Pudding of Sadness? Fermented Ilijardins? We will cater to your every whim until you are well again."

Raven paled at the mention of Tamaranian food, then smiled as Beast Boy placed a steaming cup of tea in front of her, uncharacteristically serious.

"Yeah, you need some serious pampering. It's not every day you almost die."

Cyborg, who had pulled out an apron and some oven mitts, joined in with the uncomfortable amount of attention she was suddenly getting.

"How about breakfast?"

She met Robin's eyes and mouthed the word 'help'. He just snickered and disappeared into his office. With a momentary flare of discomfort, Raven realized what he was doing. _Here we go. _


	12. History

Author's Note: The history in the diary is a sort of mash-up of the facts we're given in the TV show and Raven's story from the comic books. I also added a few changes to her upbringing on Azarath. Not major ones, just enough to match the story I've been crafting here. Review?

Disclaimer: I've stolen pretty much everything here from a reality that I didn't create. There are a few direct quotes in here too, from the comics.

* * *

The diary was sitting where he had left it, staring innocently at him. This time, he didn't hesitate. He couldn't afford to. The first entry was written in the sprawling hand of a child, a child without any patience judging by the half-finished sentences.

_I am writng becaus I got angry today. Angry is bad. I was angry at mummy, but mummy is not _

He didn't feel a blast of emotion from that page, for which he was grateful. Entering the thoughts of the most powerful empath he had ever met would have been a daunting process even if it wasn't Raven. As it was, he proceeded with caution. The first few entries were very similar to the first one, then they got gradually longer.

_Mummy came to visit today, but she left fast. She cries a lot. I want to cry too, but the moncs said no. They said it could let daddy in. I don't know who daddy is, but everybody is very afraid of him. Sometimes they are afraid of me too. _

This time, emotions swirled through him as he read, an overwhelming sense of confusion seeping into his veins. Confusion and fear.

_Lessons today were hard. _

He noticed her grammar improving. By the time he estimated she was seven years old, her writing was almost impeccable.

_I understand now what they meant. I got angry again today. Really angry. And then daddy came to say hello. He hurt me in my head and so I couldn't help it. I was floating. And laughing. And teacher was scared, he was so scared when the claws grabbed him. When daddy left, teacher wasn't moving. I got so scared, I screamed. The other monks came in and took him away, but I think he's dead. _

This time, there was anguish. Anguish and guilt, guilt that ripped through him with the violence of a hurricane and tore at his insides. There were thoughts there too, snatches of thought that augmented the brief text in front of him so that he actually felt the child's mind. _What am I? _He dropped to the floor, burying his head in his arms. _Why do I hurt people, why do I hate so much? I should be stopped. I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be anywhere. _When Robin raised his head, he realized briefly that his cheeks were wet, just as Raven's had been the night she had written this. Seven years old and already guilty for her own existence. That guilt had never really left her; she was still convinced she was something evil, abhorrent. Slowly, he turned the page. There was about a year long gap in the diary entries, but the written words gave a slight indication of why. It made him nauseous.

_The monks decided they had to punish me for a while. It's not their fault, really, and they always punish me for feelings anyhow. I stopped writing. They told me to, and the new teacher said it was really important, but I hate seeing it on paper. I don't like reading myself back later. He said I don't have to read it, just to write it. I'm free again now. But that little prison didn't stop Trigon anyway, he still came through. Nobody died though. He hurt me instead. There are little bruises all over me. The one on my face made teacher angry. I've never seen him angry before. He gave me a cold cloth and kissed my forehead and gave me a gemstone for my chakra, but I saw him punch the wall after. I'm learning how to heal myself now. It's hard. I still don't have enough control, but I will soon. _

This time, the emotions were weaker, watered down. She was gaining the control that she had lacked at a younger age. It still wasn't enough to shut down feeling completely, but it was enough to make Robin wince. Without exception, Raven's childhood was proving to be an unhappy one. Even her happy memories were tainted with an unwillingness to feel happy, an attempt to lock down all exuberance and emotion.

Her mother made a few cameo appearances, always cloaked and hidden from sight. She was a figure of mystery for the younger Raven, someone to be feared. Arella's constant tears only reinforced the impression that her child was a demon, and they grew further and further apart. Raven's accounts of her soon became clipped and brusque, a sharp contrast to the torrent of hurt that was triggered by the mere mention of Arella. There were visions too, some prophetic, some memories.

_I saw through his eyes. I saw through all of their eyes, I heard my mother screaming, and I saw Azarath as it was before, then after. Its emerald skies turned black as death itself. The sweet smell of Gossamer became the pungent odor of Brimstone. Our world shook and rumbled with protest. And peace turned to fear. Life became death. Juris saw it, and felt that he had no choice. He knew what our most sacred law was, and he broke it. I could see my nursemaid trying to stop him, I could see me in his arms. I could feel him trying to eradicate the evil that I had brought to his world. He opened that door, that door where my father's evil was trapped and prepared to throw me in. Then I saw him burn. I saw him die. _

Robin took a deep, shaking breath. This would have been hard enough to read as it was, but feeling echoes of Raven's fear only made it worse. There was a sense that her words were not her own. A child's vocabulary, augmented by what she had heard and seen in her memory-vision. Thankfully, there were happy memories after that. Memories of being introduced to Azar, the high priestess.

_She isn't afraid of me. I don't think she's afraid of everything. I'm learning to play chess. She beats me every time, but I will be clever enough to checkmate her soon. _

He smiled slightly as he felt her competitive spirit in her words.

_I was meditating this morning and I had a vision. Father was there, and there were some hooded people around him, all chanting. I'm going to ask Azar about it now, it may be important. _

Robin stopped reading there; he knew what had happened. They had informed her of her destiny, of Trigon's intention to use her as a portal. When he returned his eyes to the page, Raven was locked down completely. No stray emotions infiltrated his mind, no feeling was embedded in the pages of the diary.

_I don't know which birthday to be afraid of. The monks don't understand how often Trigon visits. If he's going to use me as a door, that means he's going to take over Azarath, doesn't it? He hurts me. More now. It's like he's testing me. He'll hurt me, then he'll block my powers so that I have to feel it, let it heal on its own. Azar thinks that he has to make sure I'm physically capable of working as a doorway. We're working on a way to prevent him from blocking me. No luck so far. _

When Azar died, Robin felt emotion in Raven's writing for the first time in several pages. There was melancholy there, and sadness, as though she had lost a parent.

_The funeral was beautiful. She died peacefully at least, the goal of everyone here. Her mantle has been passed on to her daughter, as tradition decrees, but she is not yet ready to take it. I miss her. There is an ache in my chest, and I know it is purely selfish, but I cannot help feeling there is no one left in the world who will accept me. _

Robin had to put down the diary for a moment, telling himself that he had to document the information he was receiving. The truth was just that he needed time to absorb what he had read, and to ensure that the way he treated Raven didn't change. She would not take kindly to that. When he began reading again, Arella became more important.

_Mother has taken over my teaching. She isn't as wise as Azar was, but she knows and understands things that I never thought she would. When I was a child, she could barely stand to be in my presence. Now, I think she looks at me with love, or at least with compassion. _

What followed was very dry documentation of her training, of the development of her powers. More and more, Raven began to feel Trigon's influence growing inside of her. The last entry in the diary was a short one.

_Azarath is in danger. I have to go, I don't have a choice. He'll take over. But I need to get some answers first. I'm old enough to understand more than bits and pieces. _

The remaining pages were blank, but a note that was not written in Raven's hand fluttered out of them. Answers.

_Azarath was founded hundreds and hundreds of years ago by a woman known as Azar. Her origins are unknown. Whether she was of earth or not was of little consequence, however. As legend goes, she convinced a small group of humans to abandon earth and form a new world, a world between dimensions that would be peaceful, lacking in evil. Azar guided and taught her disciples, and together, they formed the Temple of Azarath, the capital city of their newly formed world. At some point in this mythical formation, Azar decided to purge all evil from herself and her citizens. Their incantations exorcized all evil from their forms, and cast it into the Great Beyond. The evil did not dissipate, however. Evil, as you know dear Raven, does not function that way. It formed Trigon. Your father. That is why the monks of Azar took me in, you see. They sought to control you, yes. But they also felt responsible, as they had created Trigon in the first place. _

Slowly, Robin shut the book and placed it on the desk in front of him.

"It's a lot to take in all at once."

He jumped and turned to see Raven leaning against the doorframe. Her eyes were wary, as though she was afraid of his reaction. Slowly, Robin stood and handed her the book.

"Thank you for giving this to me. It can't have been easy."

She was avoiding his gaze, he noticed, her eyes cast down as she tried to think of an appropriate response.

"It was necessary. But if anybody had to read it, I'm glad it was you."

He took a step towards her, then stopped himself. He didn't want her to think he pitied her. In fact, it was the opposite. Reading about her childhood had done nothing but increase his admiration for her…and heighten his protective instincts.

"How are you dealing with all of this?"

She knew what he meant without asking, but was still tempted to play dumb as she lowered herself into the chair that stood beside his desk.

"As you know now, I was taught to keep my emotions in check."

There was a pause.

"But it's…difficult."

Robin stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. The gesture felt too formal somehow, but anything else would be wrong for the occasion, and wrong for Raven. She had once told him that she hated physical contact so much because it made it more difficult for her to remain detached.

"Remember when I said you were the most hopeful person I know?"

She did. It was one of the memories she cherished most. Standing in the sunlight-bathed tower with the prospect of her entire life in front of her…she had been nearly euphoric.

"Yes."

He smiled.

"It's still true."

Raven felt his emotional climate, felt the sincerity behind the words. The urge to kiss him was suddenly nearly overwhelming.

"Touching. Really. But I'm going to have to take that now."

The voice was familiar. Far, far too familiar. Slade.

* * *

ooooh, suspense.

toastedCroissants: Tanks! Yeah, I feel like relationships, especially on cartoon shows like this feel rushed and unrealistic. I was trying to put a little more authenticity into it. Terse...hmm. I'll have to work on that. Thanks for reviewing, as always. :)


	13. How to Catch a Villain

Author's Note: I always thought Beast Boy deserved a little more character development than he got on the show, so I tried to include a tidbit in this fic, even if it's not related to the central plotline. Enjoy, and please R&R.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Raven was in the air in an instant, dark energy crackling around her hands. Robin also settled into a ready stance, staff already halfway extended as he smashed his hand into the red button that was built into the wall. The alarm bell sounded, bathing the tower in red light, and he knew the others would be there any minute. Unfortunately, any minute wasn't fast enough in a fight with Slade, who knew Robin's weaknesses and how to exploit them. Within the first ten seconds, he had broken his staff cleanly in two and thrown him up against a wall. With what little breath he had, Robin addressed his teammate, who had launched a tendril of dark energy at the wall.

"Don't fight unless you have to. That's an order!"

Slade laughed.

"Truly, you are a chivalrous friend, Robin, but Raven can take care of herself."

At that, real anger flared in Robin's chest, and he swung his legs up, breaking the iron grip around his forearms.

"Not after your grenade, she can't."

Before his nemesis could respond, he had attacked, striking with a series of punches and jabs that would have incapacitated a normal opponent within seconds. Unfortunately, Slade was not a normal opponent. After a brief exchange of blows, the only damage he had incurred was a scratch across his breastplate. Robin, on the other hand, had a bruise around his abdomen that would need healing after their battle. He didn't feel it now though; adrenaline had taken over. He was about to lunge at Slade again when a bolt of electric blue energy did it for him. Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy had showed up, all looking more than a little alarmed by Slade's presence. Cyborg in particular was frowning as he flipped through his sensors.

"How the hell did he get past security?"

Raven had lowered herself to the ground and was sagging against the doorframe; Robin guessed that she was saving her strength.

"He has imbued some of my father's power…again."

"Not willingly."

The villain was back on his feet, facing them with slight trepidation now that they were all together.

"All I want is the diary, Raven. Hand it over and perhaps you and your friends will live."

Beast Boy and Starfire both shot her curious glances, which she ignored as she clutched the book to her chest.

"I don't know why Trigon wants this so badly, Slade, but I will not release it willingly."

The rest of the team grouped themselves in front of her, defending her with their bodies. She felt almost warmed by the gesture. It was lovely to know that, after everything she had done, her friends were still willing to defend her most treasured belonging without asking questions. Slade did not respond as kindly. A smoke bomb and a flurry of blows later, he was holding Raven up against a wall. It took all her willpower not to show the pain he was causing her.

"Trigon has…questions about his origins. And your diary holds the answers, sweet Raven."

That particular epitaph was a mistake. At his words, Raven's eyes glowed white, and her voice took on the multi-dimensional quality that was an indicator of her loss of control. A blast of pure energy threw Slade across the hallway and sent him smashing through two walls and a bed. Beast Boy ran after him, eyes wide.

"Oh man! My room!"

Robin dashed past him, a new staff at the ready.

"Worry about your room later."

Cyborg followed Robin into the ruined bedroom, Starfire close behind. Raven did not follow. Instead, she melted into a shadow and deposited herself in her bedroom, placing the diary back in the place where it was hidden: a small compartment behind the masks that hung on her wall. Anybody who tried to get at it would be hit with her defensive spellwork before they even knew where it was. It wouldn't stop Slade, but it would slow him down, and that was the goal. When she teleported back to the battle, it was chaos. Slade had apparently reverted to a normal energy capacity when he had his flesh returned to him. To Raven's intense relief, he was having trouble fighting four of the Titans at once, even without her among them.

Robin was a flurry of motion, hard anger carved into every line of his face. His emotional climate was unstable, as it always was around Slade, but there was an undercurrent of determination in his mind that made Raven think that it was near impossible for him to lose the fight. Cyborg was blasting Slade with his canon whenever there was an open opportunity, and Starfire's starbolts were denting his armor. Beast Boy was the only one not actively fighting. He was trying to defend his belongings. Raven hid a smile as he gathered his video games.

"Dude! Now I know how Raven feels! Get out of my room!"

Raven had been watching him with slight amusement, but she also felt a slight shift in his emotions that alarmed her. Before she could probe further, he had transformed into a rhinoceros and charged at Slade, one horn catching him in the seam of his breastplate. The villain flew almost thirty feet across the room and into the open air. Beast Boy followed in the form of a pterodactyl, and Raven was surprised at the hatred she felt emanating from him. This wasn't about his room. This was about Terra. With some effort, she propelled herself across the hall, where the other Titans were watching Slade fall through the air.

"Robin, he's willing to kill."

He turned to her, surprise interfering with his grim determination.

"What?!"

"He's…I can sense it. Just stop him before he does something stupid."

Robin didn't waste time. Extending his staff, he grasped Starfire's forearms and launched himself into the air after the pair that were exchanging blows over the endless expanse of water below them. Raven started to follow, but fell back at a warning glance from Robin and a protest from her ribs. The others caught up with Beast Boy and Slade within a matter of seconds, but by then, the green dinosaur had already torn off most of Slade's armor and inflicted a row of nasty cuts on his exposed chest. Raven felt him fighting for control as his rage grew; and she knew without being told that his genetics were going haywire. Thankfully, Robin had caught up by that point and was wrapping wire from his belt around Slade's damaged frame. The distraction cut Garfield's explosion short, and his emotions shifted again. Raven let out a sigh of relief that soon changed to worry as he shrank briefly back into his human form, then into something she could feel but not see before vanishing from sight.

Torn, she launched herself into the air, looking from the pitched battle going on to her left to the rocks where she knew Beast Boy had landed. As she watched, the group fighting in midair crashed to the ground not far from her with the exception of Starfire, who remained hovering at the ready, eyes glowing green as Robin beat Slade into submission. She knew who needed her more, and turned her back on the escalating violence as she went in search for the one who felt like her younger brother. Not that she ever let that show.

"Garfield?"

She never used his real name, and she felt a flicker of surprise from him before it vanished into his more prominent emotion: anger. He was in human form, but shaking. She knew from experience that he was close to changing into the Beast, the one animal form he couldn't control.

"Get out of here, Raven."

His voice, still high pitched despite how much he'd grown recently, was shaking almost as violently as his body. She dropped to the ground, unable to sustain her flight any longer, and gasped a little as her legs nearly gave out. The drop in her energy was more significant than she had realized.

"I'm not going anywhere."

He looked at her, distracted by concern as she slumped sideways onto a nearby rock.

"Rae…you all right?"

She frowned in annoyance at the nickname and managed to lower herself into a sitting position.

"Better than you at the moment."

He shook his head, gripping his hair with both hands, and she felt his emotion shift slowly from rage to sadness.

"I'm okay. I just…snapped."

"Nearly snapped," she corrected with a barely discernible smile. "And you're not the only one."

Beast Boy looked at her, eyes lingering on the hand she had pressed against her abdomen.

"Yeah. That dude brings out the worst in all of us."

She looked at him silently for a few moments, refraining from prying in his mind.

"You want to talk about it?"

Garfield shook his head, ears drooping as he avoided her gaze.

"I didn't mean to…I just…when I saw him standing there, hurting you guys, I remembered what he did to Terra. There's not much to talk about."

She placed a hand on his shoulder, another surprise. Raven wasn't exactly one for physical contact.

"Don't think of her as dead, Garfield. And don't think of Slade as the one who killed her. She killed him, and destroyed herself in the process. That was her choice, and it was the most noble one she ever made."

He sighed, but she felt some of the tension leave his mind. Their communicators beeped simultaneously, and Raven answered hers, giving Garfield some time to collect himself. She sensed that he was close to tears, and his embarrassment at that fact was hovering at the forefront of his emotional climate.

"Raven here."

Robin's face swam in front of her, looking a little tenser than usual. She made a mental note to heal him as soon as she could.

"We've got him. I thought you would want to be here for the interrogation."

"I would. I'll be there as soon as I can."

She snapped the small yellow device shut, and turned back to Beast Boy, who had thankfully managed to calm down somewhat.

"Want to give me a lift back to the tower?"

He flashed her a pathetic version of his usual toothy grin, then changed into an eagle. Raven took a deep breath as she climbed into the proffered claw, trying in vain to prepare herself for the interview to come.

* * *

Sorry Slade was beaten so easily, but he's not the central villain here, and he always struck me as kind of weak physically anyway. I never thought he'd stand a chance against the titans without his armies/gadgets, and this time he didn't have them.

Anywho, thanks for reading! :)


	14. Interrogation

Author's Note: Enjoy...?

Disclaimer: I'm going to stop posting these on every chapter...this disclaimer goes for everything in this story from now on.

* * *

Beast Boy deposited her gently on the couch in the tower's living room, then morphed back into a human. Robin gave her a curious glance, but she did her best to ignore him. If Garfield wanted to tell the others what had transpired, that was his prerogative. She would not invade his privacy any more than she could help it. Besides, there were other things to worry about. Cyborg, who had several fresh scratches on his armor and was missing a foot, straightened up to greet them, looking unusually grim.

"I got him in the same holding cell we used on you, Raven. Even if Trigon were at full strength, he'd have a hard time getting through."

Raven nodded and set her powers to work in the kitchen, putting the kettle on. She wasn't up for the task, and she had a feeling that she would be in dire need of some herbal tea before this interview was over. Ordinarily, Beast Boy would have made fun of her for this particular action, but he was exhausted. As he leaned against the window seat, Raven noticed a deep cut on his arm and another on his thigh. She glanced at her other friends too. Of the four of them, Starfire was the only one unharmed.

"Robin, Beast Boy, come here."

Her voice was almost as tired as she was, but she had energy left to heal her friends. Cyborg was already putting himself back together; he didn't need her help. Once they saw what she wanted, however, they resisted. Beast Boy, sitting next to her on the couch, pressed a hand over one of his cuts.

"It's okay, Raven, we don't need healing."

Robin frowned.

"I can handle a few bruises."

Resisting the urge to knock their heads together, Raven forced herself into a civil tone.

"Robin, you've got internal bleeding. Beast Boy, that one on your arm has severed part of the muscle. Now stop arguing."

Leaning forward slightly, she placed her hands over the green man's thigh, lightly knitting together the tissue until all that was left was a slightly pink scar. After she had finished with both of them, she leaned back, tired.

"Don't strain yourselves unduly in the next few days, I don't have the energy to heal you completely."

Robin stood up and crossed to the enormous computer monitor, but not before giving her a smile.

"Thanks."

Beast Boy was more exuberant.

"Wow. I'll never get used to that."

Robin frowned over at them, struck by a sudden thought.

"How come you can heal us, but not yourself?"

She winced, painful memories fresh in her mind.

"Trigon has only ever stopped me from healing myself. He doesn't care about the pain of anyone who isn't close to him. His victims are just by-products of his thirst for power. Those unlucky enough to be his family…we – I – get the brunt of his sadism."

The rest of the team gave her uneasy looks, unsure of how to respond. Finally, Starfire, unwilling to ever see her friends in pain, floated the length of the room and sat on the end of the couch.

"For this, we are most sorry."

Beast Boy also nudged her with an elbow; his way of showing affection.

"Yeah, that sucks alien tofu eggs."

Raven noticed his ears returning to their ordinary shape, and allowed herself a brief smile before making herself a cup of tea and sending it hovering to her hands. Robin glanced behind him at the assembled titans, meeting each of their eyes, but lingering on Raven's for a fraction of a second longer than was necessary.

"You guys ready?"

She recognized that he was mostly talking to her and gave a terse nod. She had found time to meditate after her injuries, and was confident that the part of her still imbued with Trigon's influence was under control. The others also voiced their assent, but Raven noticed that Robin's hand had gone straight to his weapons belt and Beast Boy had tensed beside her. The screen flickered to life, revealing an image of Slade, stripped of his armor entirely and chained to the floor where Raven herself had once hidden from him. There was a strange sort of irony in it, and Raven found herself grimly amused. Before they enabled the communication system, Starfire frowned at the others.

"Why is the Slade's mask still in place?"

Cyborg scowled and gestured to his extensive injuries.

"Damn thing was booby trapped. Poison gas for humans, explosives for robots."

Robin glared impassively at the figure on the screen, though Raven could feel his rage bubbling dangerously close to the surface as he pressed the red button that would let Slade see them.

"Slade. We have some questions for you, and I think you should answer them."

It was hard to tell with the mask still on, but Raven could have sworn the villain was sneering underneath it.

"And why is that? The high and mighty titans wouldn't stoop to torture."

Robin's voice was as menacing as his perfect annunciation would allow.

"Don't be so sure."

Slade shifted uneasily as his gaze flickered over the deadpan faces of the other titans, especially Raven's.

"So you intend to sink to my level? I knew we were peas in a pod, Robin."

Raven bit the inside of her lip. This was never going to work; Slade knew too much about Robin. Unlike hers, their leader's moral compass had been made very clear to the villain. Sure he had had some slip-ups, mostly thanks to Slade, but he knew that Robin would never resort to torture. Slowly, she stood up, ignoring Starfire's offer for help, and crossed over to stand beside Robin.

"Hello, Slade."

He actually looked a little discomfited at her presence there, something that was given away by a slight convulsion in his hands. Raven pressed her advantage, summoning her shadow-self to cover her much like her cloak would.

"Surprised to see me alive? I must say, so am I."

She sensed Robin's unease beside her, but didn't stop to explain it to him. Raven tended to be very good at interrogations, mostly due to her demon heritage. She had primal fear on her side, something quite separate from the physical intimidation of the other titans.

"Personally, I'm not much in the mood for torture. I think I would rather just kill you…or devour you."

She guessed – correctly – that Slade was more afraid of death than he was of pain. The eyes behind the mask widened, as did those of her teammates. Robin, leaning over, whispered in her ear.

"Uh…Raven?"

A voice in her head worried that she was alienating her friends – it wouldn't be the first time. But she couldn't afford to reassure them now; it would blow the façade she was putting on.

"My teammates would discourage such actions, but I'm sure you've seen how hard it is to control my demon side. In a way, it would be like Trigon killing you."

Slade stared at her for a second, and Raven decided it was time for the coup d'état. She let Rage out, just briefly, while she was fully in control, and felt a pair of eyes opening underneath hers. She knew they were glowing red. That was enough for Slade, who had backed up as far as was humanly possible, even though he knew they were on the other side of a screen.

"You…you drive a hard bargain, demon child."

Despite his words, his voice was shaking just slightly. Raven guessed that Trigon had done horrible things to the man in front of them, and felt a brief flash of pity.

"I will answer your questions."

Robin smiled grimly.

"Good. We will be down to interview you shortly."

He killed the feed, and Raven allowed the shadows around her to dissipate before collapsing. Robin caught her before she hit the ground and carried her to the couch, an area that the other titans quickly vacated so that she could be laid out there.

"Raven?"

Robin's voice was gentle, but she could detect the undercurrent of concern in his emotional climate.

"I'll be fine. It's just…I don't have…much energy left."

She pushed herself up on the couch and winced.

"Or morphine for that matter."

Cyborg and Starfire exchanged glances.

"Friend Raven, you were not really going to eat him, were you?"

She managed a thin smile and shook her head.

"No, Star. It was just a strategy. He would never believe that Robin would condone torture. Me on the other hand…"

She shrugged. Robin placed a hand on her shoulder, and she felt his desire to talk to her in private, but he addressed the titans as a whole.

"We've got Slade where we want him now. We've got to go interview him before the effects wear off. You stay here."

His voice was sharp as he felt Raven starting to get up. He answered her unspoken question by flicking the screen on again. She shot him a grateful glance and reached for the cup of tea that had remained undisturbed throughout her brief encounter with Slade. She watched what happened next from the couch, quietly extending her consciousness so that she could feel everyone's emotions throughout the interrogation and hopefully detect any deception on Slade's part. Unfortunately, psychopaths were harder to read than most, as their emotional reactions to lying were virtually undetectable. On the screen, she saw Robin approach the door to Slade's cell and type in a key code. The titans filled the room, forcing Slade into a corner.

"So you are prepared to answer our questions, then?"

Robin's voice was cold, dispassionate, something Raven appreciated in this situation.

"I am, Robin, but only because your sweet team mate has so kindly threatened to feed me to Trigon. Shouldn't you be taking that a little more seriously?"

In an impressive display of acting ability, Robin shrugged.

"I have no control over Raven. None of us do, really, not when she gets like this. As you know."

His eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before his face became inscrutable again. Raven, with some amusement, sensed that he was still troubled over how easily she had taken them down right before the apocalypse. Somewhere inside her mind, Courage laughed. _Better get used to it, cutie. _Raven frowned and shook herself. Absolute focus was necessary here, and unspoken truths from her one-sided emotions were not getting her anywhere. The interview was in full swing by then. Starfire was scribbling in Tamaranian on a small clipboard, Cyborg was typing into his arm, Beast Boy was wearing an uncharacteristically grim expression, and Robin was recording the whole thing as he asked the questions.

"Why did you come back?"

"It's a long story, Robin, and it involves some…unpleasant facts about your girlfriend up there."

She felt a flash of anger from Robin, then what felt like confusion before she withdrew from his mind, not altogether sure she wanted to step on that particular landmine. Instead she focused on Slade, who was radiating unusual amounts of nervousness, not just about being trapped, but also about Trigon finding out. Robin folded his arms across his chest, eyes narrowed.

"We want answers, Slade, not mind games."

"Very well, but don't say I didn't warn you. I escaped from Trigon's hell with my flesh. I was content to leave Jump City at the time. There were too many memories that were…unpleasant. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to go. I thought Gotham might appreciate my talents, but I ran into your friend the Bat and decided I had overstayed my welcome."

At this, Raven detected variance in the colors of everyone's emotions. Beast Boy's curiosity was aroused, Starfire was happy, Cyborg was mildly surprised, and Robin seemed torn between resentment, nostalgia, and satisfaction. Raven had never asked him about his parting from his adopted father, but she had caught glimpses when she had entered his mind, and resolved to make him fulfill his side of their bargain at the earliest convenience.

"After that, I headed for Metropolis, but Trigon found me first. This time, I didn't have any protection."

_You shouldn't have had that ring in the first place. _She didn't even want to think about what Slade had done to the monks to get it, or how he had gotten to Azarath at all. He had likely been part of Trigon's plan to destroy the dimension, actually.

"He informed me that as a traitor and a worm, I was indebted to him."

Here, Robin interrupted.

"How did he contact you?"

"I was getting to that Robin. You always did lack patience. Trigon was not at full strength. Unable to enter earth's dimension, he sent a fire demon to contact me. The demon was expendable; it expired as soon as it had delivered its message."

"And what was its message?"

Slade hesitated, but there was a note of sadistic pleasure in his voice as he replied.

"That Trigon had need of me on Azarath, and he intended to use me to bring down his unruly daughter, once and for all."

For once, Raven was glad she had been confined to the couch, glad she was alone as the tea cup shattered in her hands, along with the newly replaced lamp. It wasn't as though this came as a surprise, not really. She had seen her home dimension in flames long before Trigon had tried to do the same to earth. And she had listened to Arella. But it was another matter entirely to have her fears confirmed, to have her comfortable denial shattered like the mug in her hands. Vaguely, she was aware that Robin had continued the interview after a short pause, but she needed a few minutes of meditation, and perhaps a little crying before she was ready to watch the rest of it.

Down in the holding cell, Robin tried not to let his shock show, or his concern for the girl resting in the living room for that matter. Every fibre of his being was telling him to go do what he could for her, but his sense of duty was stronger even than his sympathy, and he stayed where he was, though his voice became tenser than usual. Behind him, he sensed the other titans exchanging questioning glances; they didn't know about Raven's origins, but they recognized the word 'Azarath'.

"Why did you attack us if your intention was to lure Raven into a trap?"

"I was not particularly interested in entering into another pact with an interdimensional demon. Not after the last time. Though you will not believe this, I came to warn Raven of her father's intentions."

"And the burning building?"

"Well, I am a supervillain, Robin. You can't expect me to visit without having a little fun."

"You threw grenades at us."

"I was forced to defend myself. Raven attacked with very little provocation…I was not aware that her demon side was uninhibited, and found myself in the target zone. As you know, it is very difficult to reason with her when she is like that, particularly when you are pure evil yourself. My grenades were defense mechanisms, nothing else."

"So why did you return today?"

"Trigon was not pleased with my attempt. I was hoping to find a little protection should he try to recruit me again. Raven's diary would have provided that protection."

"You were desperate."

"I suppose I was, yes."

Hatred rose in Robin, hatred at least as strong as it had been when he had first encountered Slade nearly three years ago, but this time it was mixed with revulsion. As he turned away, he made a conscious effort to slow his breathing so as not to alarm his team. Silently, he led them out of the holding cell and into the hallway beside it. Starfire, as usual, was the first to speak.

"What is Azarath? I thought this was merely a magic word, not…"

"It's where Raven grew up."

There was a pause as this sunk in, then varying degrees of shock appeared on every face.

"Oh man."

Beast Boy was the first to realize the implications of this revelation, and Cyborg placed a hand on his shoulder as Starfire's eyes filled with sympathetic tears. Robin's face remained inscrutable, but his emotions were in as much upheaval as the rest of them.

"I have to find her."

He left the rest of the team standing there as he walked away, trying to clear his head. Slade's information had been valuable to say the least, but he was unsure about what to do with it now. They had no way of fighting Trigon without leaving this dimension, and no way of knowing exactly what the demon was after. He was unpredictable. The only thing they knew he wanted was also the thing he could no longer have: power.

Raven was where he had left her, minus the tea and the lamp, which he noticed had been neatly swept into a corner. She was hovering just above the couch, and the first thing he noticed was that she had changed back into her usual black leotard and cloak. The second was that she seemed unnaturally calm, always a bad sign. She opened one eye as he entered the room, taking in his expression rather than extending herself to his emotions.

"Were you watching?"

She nodded briefly, descending gracefully to sit cross legged on the couch.

"It just confirmed what I already knew. Trigon took over Azarath long before he came to earth. I visited just before you all discovered the prophecy and saw what he had done with it."

Robin sat next to her on the couch, trying to gauge just how much the news had affected her. Her face was impassive, as usual, and he could rarely get a reading on her when she was like this.

"Are you…all right?"

She blinked at him.

"I just need to meditate."

He got the message. Raven was a private person by nature, and she had been forced to reveal far too much of herself lately. He wasn't going to get anything else out of her for a little while. Or so he thought until she extended her hand and rose into the air again.

"Will you help me heal again? I need to be back at full strength."

"Sure." His response was automatic and unconditional until he had time to connect the dots. "Uh…why?"

She closed her eyes, indicating that their conversation was at an end.

"I'm going to kill my father."

* * *

dundunduuuuun.

;)


	15. Preparation Begins

Author's Note: This might possibly count as a crossover...? Enjoy!

* * *

The healing was over within two and a half hours, Raven and Robin both unaware of the time passing. The other titans avoided the room after peering through the doorway; Robin had told them briefly about their previous healing session, and they could guess what the pair was doing from the soft blue glow that surrounded them.

When they returned to themselves, tired but relieved, the room was empty and the light had dimmed. Robin was the first to speak.

"You can't go alone."

Raven sighed, and he could practically feel her desire to argue.

"Well, I can't take you all with me."

"We'll need to do some more research, but I'm sure it's possible. Besides, we don't know what we're getting into."

"We know exactly what we're getting into. My father has burned my home dimension to the ground and has now decided to kill me. We will be facing an angry demon who has omniscience and total control over all things evil and –"

Robin cut her off, sensing her emotional upheaval for the first time since before the battle. Raven never talked this much, and when she did, it usually meant that she was either very upset or very tired. Taking her gently by the shoulders, he peered into the face that she was trying to hide in her cloak.

"Raven! Listen to me, all right? You're tired, you're grief-stricken—" She opened her mouth to protest, but he kept talking over her, "—your broken bones are still not fully healed, and you don't know what Trigon is even doing. Please, just do me a favor and try to get some sleep before you go charging off to Azarath."

Raven was silent for a long moment, but he could feel her eyes on his face, searching him. A few months ago, she would have ignored him and gone off on her own anyway, but now he had earned her trust, and she wasn't going to squander it.

"Just give me a day, Raven. After that, you can do what you like."

She looked at him for another few seconds, then acquiesced.

"All right. But if he gets to Arella in the mean time, her blood is on your hands."

With this ominous statement, she melted into the floor, leaving Robin to let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. After a few minutes, he followed Raven down the long hallway, but instead of heading back to his room, turned left and entered his study. On the far side of the room, a rarely-used television screen was set into the wall. Robin typed a code into it, something that he reserved for emergencies almost exclusively. After a few seconds of fuzziness, the image of his adopted father swam into focus. Bruce was clearly just back from a fight; his cheekbone was shadowed by a bruise and Alfred was hovering anxiously in the background, though he dropped the tray in his hands at the sight of Robin.

"Why Master Richard, this is a surprise."

"Hey Alfred, good to see you again."

He turned his attention back to Batman, whose face was almost as shuttered as Raven's normally was. The difference here was that Richard could usually tell what he was thinking.

"Hey Bruce."

"Take off the mask, Richard."

Robin didn't even think of disobeying, and as he emerged from hiding, a rarely seen smile spread across Bruce Wayne's face.

"Congratulations."

"On what?"

"Everything. It's not easy running a team."

Richard felt a warm glow in his chest at that, and their conversation flowed easily. They bounced through trivialities, crime reports, and stories, until Batman interrupted the dialogue between Richard and Alfred about how long to cook a ham with his usual sharp perception.

"This wasn't a social call, Dick. What's going on?"

Robin sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"We've got a situation. I'm in over my head…we need a demon expert, preferably a magic user."

Batman frowned, giving Robin his full attention.

"Sounds like you're after someone like Fate, but I'd like to hear the whole story first."

Robin gave him as brief a synopsis as he could manage, tackling the apocalypse first. He used videos to aid his explanations, and Bruce gave him a sharp look when the visual cues made him pause in his monologues. He talked them through his deductions about Trigon, Slade's return, and Raven's injuries. He only hesitated when he came to the part about the diary. On the one hand, everything needed to be explained. But he had sworn secrecy, and considering the nature of what was hidden in those pages, he was in no mood to break that promise. Instead, he trailed off, and both men on the other side of the screen assumed it was the end of the story. Bruce frowned.

"It sounds to me like you need to ask this girl about her childhood. She has more information than she has revealed to you."

Richard looked down at the mask in his hands.

"I…wasn't finished. There's more, much more, but how much I can tell you is problematic. I convinced Raven to tell me about her childhood, in a way."

Batman rubbed one hand along his jaw.

"I see. And what did you learn?"

Robin weighed his words carefully as he responded.

"That…Raven was raised in another dimension, one called Azarath. That Trigon has direct access to her mind, and used that to…hurt her. And that Trigon is literally an incarnation of evil. He came into being when the people of Azarath cleansed their souls. The evil that came from them gained a life-force of its own. Trigon."

Batman could tell he was holding back, and narrowed his eyes at his adoptive son, but refrained from commenting, for which Richard was grateful. Speaking more quickly now, he related the most recent fight and its repercussions, ending with the interview. He played videos where he had them, but it still took him almost half an hour to bring Batman up to speed on their current situation.

"…So we need to get to Azarath and try to take this thing down, but we need to know exactly what we're dealing with first. And for that, we need friends."

Batman stood and began typing furiously, looking into a screen on Robin's left. Richard knew from experience that he was accessing one of his massive databases.

"You were right to call me in on this Dick. This is much bigger than you guys. I may even get in touch with the league."

Trying not to think of what Raven would do to him when she found out, Robin asked,

"Who else is capable of interdimensional transport? Raven isn't sure she can take us through, especially to a world that has fallen to Trigon."

Batman frowned.

"This is going to take some time, Dick. Do you think you and your friends could come stay at the manor while we get this figured out?"

Robin sighed and shook his head.

"I had to fight tooth and nail to get her to give me an extra day for information. I doubt she'd be willing to come vacation in Gotham."

Just then, an earsplitting scream shook the tower, making Robin sit bolt upright and the men behind the screen look questioningly at him.

"It's her. She's had another vision…or a nightmare. I should –"

Raven appeared out of nowhere in his room, dressed in a cloak that she had thrown over her pajamas.

"We can't go yet."

The men behind her recovered quickly from her sudden appearance.

"Well that works out well for us."

Raven jumped and whirled around, dark energy crackling around her hands. At the sight of Batman, her somewhat panicked expression faded to her usual blank mask, though the look she sent to Robin was one of pure venom. He knew he would have to answer to her later.

"Bruce, this is Raven."

"Nice to meet you Raven."

She fixed the man in question with a gaze that made his skin crawl, even through the camera.

"Hello."

There was a pause as they examined each other. Bruce was more handsome than Raven had imagined, and well aware of it. She noted that he groomed his hair quite carefully and that a bruise was shadowing his otherwise perfect jawline. Bruce in turn took in the fact that she hid her face in her hood and that there were faint tremors in her hands that suggested she was either under enormous stress or on some sort of drug.

"I assume Robin has requested your assistance?"

"He has, but there are some points I am still unclear on. I was hoping you might help with that."

"That depends."

"Ah. On what?"

"The information you ask of me. I know you have earned the trust of both Richard and the Justice League, but I'm afraid I don't give mine away so easily."

"Understandable, and when we meet, I'm sure we can get to know each other."

They both smiled ironically. Robin, looking from one to the other, nearly burst out laughing. They were so remarkably similar, it was a wonder he hadn't noticed it before. Raven was just a bit more monosyllabic, and Bruce more eloquent. Behind Batman, Alfred smiled.

"If I may, Master Bruce, I think the two of you will get along smashingly.

Batman shot the old man a quelling look, but Raven raised a sardonic eyebrow, and Robin could tell that she was somewhat amused too.

"Raven, can you get us to Gotham?"

She smiled slightly.

"Thought you'd never ask."

"I'll get the others then."

After Robin disappeared out the door, an awkward silence settled in the room. Raven wasn't one for small talk – or talk in general for that matter, and Bruce was preoccupied, as usual. After a few seconds, he looked at her, and she could practically feel him evaluating her.

"What did Robin mean?"

Raven looked blankly at him, refusing to respond to the curiosity in his voice.

"I can teleport."

Batman raised his eyebrows; she could tell he was vaguely impressed.

"And you have enough information?"

"My mother grew up in Gotham. If you could give me the address of your manor, I could take us directly there."

Her voice was the usual monotone, devoid of inflection, but the odd look Batman gave her told her that she had just given away more information than she had meant to. To cover her confusion, she turned to the computer screen behind her and pinpointed the address he had sent them on a map. She was just summoning her uniform from her room when Robin walked in with the others. To Raven's amusement, she could sense barely suppressed excitement from Beast Boy.

"Oh man! It's really you, sir! Can I just say it's an honor to –"

Rolling her eyes, Raven enveloped them in shadow before he could finish.

They re-appeared in front of Wayne Manor, a huge, sprawling mansion that more than lived up to expectations. She half expected Beast Boy to faint as they made their way up the front path. Alfred was waiting for them at the door, and greeted them with a short bow.

"Welcome back, Master Richard."

Since none of them were wearing coats, Alfred could only offer to take Raven's cloak. She declined as politely as possible; she preferred to keep it on when talking to strangers. The house was huge, beautiful, and incredibly intimidating. It was the kind of house that made you feel guilty just for existing because the likelihood was that you would smash a priceless vase on your way to the bathroom. Robin led them through the labyrinthine halls with easy familiarity, but Raven felt emotions from him that were not a normal part of Robin's personality. Nostalgia, regret, and a strain of sadness that worried Raven slightly.

"Robin, where is it that you are taking us?"

Robin looked over his shoulder at Starfire.

"The guest wing. Your bedrooms are there. We'll meet with Batman in the morning."

Raven, noting Alfred's disappearance, deduced that the infamous Bat had sustained some minor injuries that night. She was tempted to expand her mind and search the house for other inhabitants, but it would be a violation of privacy at the very least. The 'guest wing' as Richard had put it, was a massive hallway with hardwood floors and a somewhat more subtle decorative style than the rest of the house. Devoid of its usual gothic flavor, this part of Wayne Manor was far less intimidating, and the team relaxed.

"Dibs on the biggest room!"

With that Beast Boy transformed into a fly and made a quick circuit of the rooms, ending with the one on the far left of the hallway. The other titans, with some bickering, also claimed rooms, leaving Robin and Raven alone in the hallway together. Robin was looking somewhat more lost than usual, though his folded arms said otherwise. Raven looked sideways at him.

"Everything okay?"

"Not sure."

That exchange of words had become a bit of an inside joke between them after the events concerning Terra, and they both smiled a little.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Robin shrugged, and she fell into step with him as he made his way back to the central upstairs hallway. Their silence was companionable as they walked, Raven trying in vain to guess where they were going. Eventually, they wound up in front of a door that was plastered with various posters and a 'keep out' sign. Following him into the room, Raven's eyes settled on an acrobat's poster above the bed. The yellow letters splashed across it read "The Flying Greysons". It was the only decoration on the bare, whitewashed walls. Robin, sitting on the bed, noticed her looking at it.

"My parents and I."

He removed his mask and she her hood, and they looked at each other for a moment.

"You never did keep our deal."

"What deal?"

In a surprisingly good imitation of Robin's over-enunciated voice, Raven said,

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours?"

He looked so surprised that she giggled, feeling Happy making a sudden and unwelcome appearance.

"Well I've more than fulfilled my requirement."

Richard sighed, which was his way of admitting she was right.

"I should have known you'd hold me to that."

She just lifted an eyebrow and made herself comfortable, sitting cross-legged on his floor.

"I'm sensing things from you that could become distractions."

He rolled his eyes.

"And you think I need to tell you what's bothering me so that it won't endanger me or our mission."

"Robin. I am more than familiar with the human mind. Your emotions have always impacted how you act, especially with Slade and Trigon. Would you really have elected to save me if you were busy thinking about your parents? You need to clear your mind."

When he remained unresponsive, she smiled slightly.

"Besides. We had a deal."

He sighed, which she knew was an agreement, and drew his knees up to his chest, resting his elbows on them.

"Right. We had a deal."

* * *

Thanks for reading! :)

chinaluv: Thanks man. Sorry the update took a little while.

toastedCroissants: Yeeeah that was a typo. Sorry, fixed it! Lol things are about to get a lot more interesting...


	16. A Loan From the Justice League

Author's Note: Sorry for the hiatus...I have exams, and they're killing me. An agonizingly slow death. Anyway, introduced a new character who definitely did not get enough face time in the comics. Enjoy!

* * *

Robin's room was unfamiliar to Raven, yet she had no difficulty believing it was his, and listening to him talk, she knew immediately that this was the only place he felt comfortable enough to do so. He started with facts, as usual, but she could sense his emotions despite the layer of analysis that he heaped over them.

"Statistically speaking, trapeze artists actually have a very low death rate. Especially good trapeze artists, although suicide rates are correspondingly higher and that may be worse depending on your philosophical perspective and…"

He took a deep breath.

"Those are my parents."

He gestured at the poster.

"And me. We were circus performers. We did shows all over the country, but Gotham was a regular stop. They got ready for shows inside our trailer, but I usually just got dressed outside. I was a kid, and there was nobody around anyway. When I was seven, I waited for my parents backstage in the tent. I heard…well, I didn't know what I was hearing. Bruce helped me figure that out later."

He glanced at the filing cabinet in the corner.

"Turns out they were mob bosses. Totally ordinary in Gotham. Commonplace, even. They were asking for money from the circus director. He told them no. That night…I wasn't on yet. My parents always did their act first. Then they would bring me out as the Boy Wonder. The trump card. Crowds loved me, so even if the first set didn't go over well, I could get people excited. How many seven year old trapeze artists are there?"

Robin's voice had taken on a bitter, mocking quality that Raven rarely heard. He sounded older than seventeen, and sadder.

"I always watched their set. Always, even that night. There was no net. They were that good. I saw them fall, my dad first because he was heavier. He hit the ground feet first, and he knew what to do; he rolled. But that trapeze was too far off the ground, and…his blood looked like strawberry jam."

He buried his head in his hands, and Raven, sensing his emotional climate, put a tentative hand on his shoulder.

"My mother screamed so loudly…I can still hear her sometimes. I was screaming too, screaming and crying, but nobody paid attention to me. They were trying to get the audience out. And they did, the crowd was almost gone when she fell too. Their wires just…snapped. She didn't even bother to try after my dad went down. She fell headfirst. Her head smashed and her spine cracked and she was brain dead for two months before they finally unplugged her. I used to visit. Every day. I would show her pages of my coloring books."

"Paint by numbers?"

He let out a choked laugh.

"Yeah. I always did them out of order."

"Horrible."

"That's what the nurses said."

She leaned against the wall and mirrored his posture, hugging her knees to her chest.

"And Batman adopted you."

"He was after the mob bosses. I was going to go to the police, turn over what I had heard to them, but Bruce convinced me to rely on him instead. We got them eventually. Took longer than we planned, but we got them."

Raven was still confused. None of this explained why being here made Richard feel trapped and guilty. He glanced at her out of eyes that were slightly red, sensing her unanswered questions.

"Bruce was great, but he wasn't my parents. And the one mafia member…the one who supplied the acid…he only got two years. Two years for aiding and abetting. I went after him when I found out, I went after him like crazy, even when I knew he had been held at gun point. When I found him, I lost it. I nearly beat him to a pulp before Bruce found me. He was angrier than I'd ever seen him before. I thought he of all people should have understood. That he was being a hypocrite. We fought. I left."

He shrugged feebly.

"So yeah. Maybe this will get in the way. Working with Bruce again…it had to happen sometime. I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances."

"Thank you for telling me."

"Thank you for listening."

Raven nodded briefly, and they lapsed into a silence that was not quite comfortable until Robin broke it.

"I really hurt the guy."

She wasn't good at this, wasn't good at this comforting, reassuring crap. That was Starfire's department. Raven had never been taught how.

"I've done worse."

"You were seven."

"You were fourteen."

"It wasn't your fault though! This is different."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Is letting my demon side control me any different from you letting your emotions control you?"

Robin looked at her for a moment, and she could tell he was struggling to digest her perspective.

"I…guess not, not really."

She stood, brushing off her leotard as she glanced at the clock.

"You're not the only one that screws up, Robin. It happens. And when it does, you have to forgive yourself. Otherwise it'll eat you from the inside, and you don't want to let that happen." She paused for a moment, then squeezed his shoulder gently. "Take it from someone that knows."

He stared at the spot where she had melted into the ground for a long time, trying to adjust to the strange shift in his mood.

The next morning, Alfred greeted them with a surprisingly thorough breakfast. He knew, somehow, that waffles were the favorite of both Cyborg and Raven, how Robin liked his ham cooked, and that Beast Boy wouldn't eat anything with dairy or meat in it. He didn't quite manage to steep Raven's tea properly, but she forgave him and, at his indignant request, demonstrated her methodology. She was removing a few fragrant jasmine blossoms from the pot when Batman strode in, cape snapping dramatically behind him.

"All right, I've contacted the Justice League."

Raven paused, and though her face was inscrutable, Alfred noticed that her back was suddenly unnaturally straight. The rest of the team also looked at her, though their attempts at unobtrusive glances were laughable. She scowled at Beast Boy, which was all it took for the Titans to cough awkwardly and pay far more attention to their breakfast. Batman raised an eyebrow.

"Obviously a…controversial decision, but it had to be done. They need to be warned about any imminent threat to the earth."

Beast Boy looked indignant.

"Yeah? Well where were they the first time?" He paused, remembered where he was, and suddenly transformed into a kitten, then back again. "Sorry, no disrespect sir, I'm sure they had a perfectly good reason sir."

Robin shot him an annoyed glance; it had taken forever to get Garfield to stop calling _him _sir. With Batman, the task might very well be impossible.

"Beastboy has a point. The Justice League isn't the only team protecting the earth. Why call them in on this?"

Batman sighed and accepted a cup of coffee from Alfred, who seemed completely unperturbed by talk of a possible apocalypse.

"I haven't called them in, just warned them. As for last time…well, they happened to be frozen in stone like the rest of the world. Only Fate and the others in his tower escaped from harm."

Raven allowed a slightly curious expression to suffuse her features. Robin knew she would be itching to research any area of localized magical activity, especially one that could resist Trigon, but she remained silent. Batman seemed to be avoiding her gaze, but he was not quite successful as she was watching him with eyes that seemed to bore right through his skull. Privately, Bruce was equal parts alarmed and intrigued by her, and he resolved to speak with her privately at the first opportunity.

"The Justice League is…alarmed, but they've agreed not to interfere so long as the threat is not directed at earth."

Here, Raven's eyes flickered slightly, but it was barely discernible to anyone who didn't know her.

"Does that mean they won't help us?"

Batman smiled slightly.

"Not at all, they just have agreed to respect your attachment to the situation and keep their hands – figuratively – off."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"I'm still not understanding what's actually going on."

Batman put down his coffee cup.

"The Justice League has offered to lend us one of their more valuable commodities." He grinned ironically at their puzzled faces, then pulled out a small communicator. "It's not over till the fat lady sings."

Robin's mouth formed a small 'o' of comprehension, but the rest of the team, including Raven, remained completely nonplussed as a greenish light appeared in the kitchen, tinged with violet, and a smirking woman appeared, placing both hands on her hips as she surveyed the room.

"So this is the famous Wayne manor. How come you never showed me this before, Batty?"

Batman sighed and reached over to shake hands with the woman.

"Nice to see you again too, Faith. How's the Doom Patrol?"

At that, Beast Boy sat up straighter, ears perking up.

"The Doom Patrol? You? What? Who…? Why don't I know you?"

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"You must be Beast Boy. Mind if I call you Garfield? Rita does, and it's hard to get used to anything else."

Beast Boy shrugged.

"Um. Yeah, I guess, I mean, call me whatever you….hi."

He had been changing shape rapidly out of shock, but he now reverted to human form and shook Faith's hand, smiling in a surprisingly mature fashion. Faith nodded and turned to Starfire, who didn't give her a chance to say anything.

"Hello, new helper from the Justice League! Please, where do you come from, what is your favorite color, and do you wish to be my friend?"

Robin and Cyborg both hid smiles at her usual tirade, but Faith rose magnificently to the occasion.

"Brazil, purple, and not just yet kiddo. Nice to meet ya though."

Her grin widened when she felt Starfire's handshake.

"Change my answer to that last one; anybody with an arm like that is okay in my book."

Starfire smiled happily and clapped both hands, rising about a foot into the air as Faith turned and greeted Robin and Cyborg in turn.

"Hey there, ninja, robot. How's it going?"

She turned to Raven then, grin fading to an appraising look.

"Saved you for last. How was your inspection?"

Raven hid a smile. _She's good. _She had in fact been assessing Faith ever since she materialized, but had been able to glean little from her emotional climate. She was a well-disciplined woman; her emotions not entirely suppressed, but certainly kept in check. The primary one at the moment was curiosity, but beyond that, Raven didn't have a clue what she was feeling. This was unusual, but then, Faith seemed like an unusual person. Clad in a gleaming metal bodysuit, her figure was lean and muscular. Everything was covered, from her hands to her feet, and Raven had a suspicion that this was purposeful: her body was as well-hidden as the rest of her.

The purple accents on her suit were interesting; their wiring seemed to be designed to enhance some sort of telekinetic field. Her dark hair was in a pixie cut, but it suited her angled face. The eyes that Raven met were dark brown and glittering with energy. Most alarming, however, was the aura she was giving off. It was a subtle influence, but one that Raven knew could be much more powerful if pushed. As it was, it only had a slightly calming effect on all those in the room with her. But that kind of involuntary power spoke to a much more impressive telekinetic base – one that Raven couldn't sense.

"I'm not sure yet."

Faith's smirk turned into a full blown grin as she reached for Raven's hand.

"I can't get a read on you either, mystery girl. And Batty over here won't tell me anything. Can't complain though. He extends me the same courtesy."

Raven frowned as she sensed, for the first time, something probing at the edges of her mental defenses. She hadn't noticed before because Faith hadn't managed to get past her outer barriers, but now she was getting closer. Her gaze had turned inward as she sensed the intrusion, but now, she narrowed her eyes and returned to the present.

"Poking around in my mind is not a safe activity. You may not come back…intact."

Faith looked mildly impressed.

"You sensed that? Usually, people don't notice till I'm inside."

"I'm not people."

A look of concentration flickered across the older woman's face, and Raven felt a quick probe into her psyche that made her wince and retaliate. Faith stumbled back a step, raising her eyebrows.

"I'll say! Is that demon I'm picking up on?"

Robin hadn't thought it was possible for Raven's expression to get any more dangerous, but now her eyes went blank, which he knew was a danger sign.

"Yes, that would be demon. Care to explore further?"

Dark energy crept out from under her cloak, and a tendril of it encased the metal foot of Faith's suit. The Titans glanced at Robin and Batman, neither of whom looked perturbed. Starfire leaned in closer to Robin.

"Must we prevent a fight?"

Batman glanced over, looking amused.

"Let them get to know each other, Koriandr."

Faith lifted her hands to chest height.

"Okay, okay, I get the message. Calm down, mystery girl."

Raven summoned her energies back into her body and fixed Faith with a probing gaze that frightened most people.

"How would you like it if somebody…"

And she extended her consciousness, increasing the pressure that she had held back before to avoid intruding. She couldn't read minds, but she could read emotions, which were more useful sometimes. She caught a glimpse of determination, and of enormous, deep-set guilt that laced Faith's mental landscape with hues that were primarily deep burgundy. The woman frowned fiercely, smile disappearing for the first time.

"Okay, point taken. Back off."

Without a word, Raven withdrew and lowered her hood. Likewise, Faith returned to her own mind and hitched a smile back onto her expressive face.

"Nice to meet you."

Raven allowed a small smirk to suffuse her own features and inclined her head in return.

"Likewise. And thanks for agreeing to help."

Cyborg finally stepped forward, placing a metal hand on each woman's shoulder.

"All right, y'all. Can we go stop a demon now?"

* * *

Thanks for reading!

chinaluv: Yeah, I don't really like him either, but Robin wouldn't realistically go to anybody else for help. Besides, he's not a major character. ;)

Cerulaen: Oops. I've watched the whole series too, I wish I'd remembered that. Glad you liked it anyway though! :)


	17. Welcome To Azarath

Author's Note: Raven's incantation was taken from "The Prophecy". I did my best with the spelling based on what I heard, but it's probably not at all accurate. Enjoy (and review?). :)

* * *

Starfire sighed as she re-packed her bag for the fourth time. You would think that with an enormous demon to fight, she wouldn't be worried about clothes, but she wasn't sure what counted as appropriate attire on Azarath.

"You're not really worried about the clothes."

Raven's flat voice startled Koriandr, even though she had known she was there. The Titans were all gathered in the living room of the tower again thanks to Raven's teleportation, but they were preparing to leave it for a long time. Faith had said that teleportation one way was easy so long as Raven guided her, but none of them were certain of their ability to leave Azarath once they arrived there. Faith had accompanied them to the tower in Robin's stead – he was still at Wayne manor. Raven was planning on picking him up while Faith took the others through the dimensional portal. Faith herself was digging through the Titans' computer database, indifferent to both Cyborg's nervousness and Raven's intense irritation. Just now, however, she was distracted by Star's emotional turmoil.

"Friend Raven, what are the cultural norms on your home planet? I must be appropriate, yes?"

Raven's mouth twisted into something that wasn't quite a smile.

"I don't think anybody will be alive to care, Star."

Starfire's eyes were unusually somber as she looked at her friend.

"You are right. I am not worried about clothes. I am worried about you."

Nobody else was forthright enough to say it out loud, but Raven knew the other Titans were feeling much the same as Starfire. It was not entirely unexpected, but it still made her uncomfortable.

"I have had plenty of time to come to terms with the destruction of Azarath."

"That does not mean that you do not feel. I have used your powers, friend. They are devastating indeed, and I am afraid…"

She was too tactful to finish the sentence, so Raven did it for her.

"You're afraid that I'll lose control and blow you all up."

She hadn't thought that anybody else was listening, but Faith's sardonic voice interrupted that happy delusion.

"Is that likely?"

Raven sighed.

"Not unless I don't get a chance to meditate."

Faith glanced over her shoulder, but didn't straighten from her posture in front of the computer.

"I'll take your word for it, mystery girl, but I will be one hell of a pissed off ghost if you kill me. Not that you could."

Raven felt her emotions coloring with wry humor and resisted the urge to laugh. Faith had that effect; outside of her strangely calming aura, she tended to alleviate the tension just with her personality.

"Wanna bet?"

At that, Faith really laughed and logged off of the computer, earning a not-so-subtle sigh of relief from Cyborg.

"I have a feeling a fight between us would destroy the Northern Hemisphere, so I'm going to pass on that. But I'd love to go hand to hand with you sometime mystery girl. You wouldn't stand a chance."

Raven hated to admit it, but Faith was probably right. Her hand-to-hand combat skills were sorely lacking; being raised on a planet of pacifists had hardly prepared her for intensely physical confrontations. And from her body language and discipline, Raven guessed that Faith had spent at least part of her life in the army. Trying not to let it irk her that someone with similar powers was more skilled then she was, Raven turned back to Starfire, who still looked anxious.

"Worrying about it is pointless Starfire. But if it makes you feel better, I promise I won't hurt any of you."

Faith, who was helping Beast Boy to shove an abnormally large gamestation into an appropriately small suitcase, smirked.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Sunshine."

Raven ignored her and put her hood up over her face.

"Everyone ready?"

Cyborg nodded tersely, Beast Boy swallowed, Starfire picked up her suitcase, and Faith saluted ironically.

"Okay then. I'm going to pick up Robin. Faith, I'm trusting you with the lives of my friends. Prove me right."

She had disappeared into the floor in the next second, reappearing in the Bat Cave, where Robin was standing next to Bruce. From the emotions coming from them, she guessed that they had had a heart-to-heart in her absence. Not, she reminded herself, that it was any of her business. She had forced Robin into talking to her because she was worried about the mission, not for any other reason. Batman smiled grimly at her as she hovered over to them, her cloak floating behind her as if buoyed by a nonexistent breeze. She didn't say anything as she lowered herself onto the cold rock, but instead met Robin's eyes, silently asking him to communicate for her as he so often did. He got the message.

"So Faith can take the others?"

Batman nodded tightly.

"She'll need to lock on to Raven's telepathic signal once you two are there, but yes, her powers are more than enough to transport your friends safely."

His eyes flickered between Raven and Robin, and he chose his next words carefully.

"Raven, are you…equally equipped to deal with this?"

Robin frowned and folded his arms across his chest.

"Everyone in my team can handle themselves, and Raven more than most."

Batman shot him a no-nonsense glance.

"Why don't you let her answer the question, Dick?"

Raven sighed.

"I am more than equipped."

She met Bruce's eyes yet again, and he suddenly felt incredibly insignificant. It was as if she was assessing every weak spot he'd ever had and judging him for them. Though he kept his face inscrutable and blocked his mind out of habit, his intense discomfort still transmitted through his emotional web. Raven lowered her hood.

"My apologies."

Bruce inclined his head.

"No need. My reaction to your…perceptions is not relevant. What is, however, is that you do not harm my son."

She was exasperated, but she hid it well. Two people in one day, both questioning her ability to control herself. It was as though she were a precocious child holding a time bomb. Her voice was dry as she responded.

"I have had a great deal of practice."

She turned to Robin, trying to clear her mind of distraction.

"You ready?"

He nodded, but wasn't really paying attention. The urge to touch Raven – just to grasp her hand or touch her arm – was very distracting. He might even have followed up on the impulse if it hadn't been for the presence of his adoptive father. Raven, sensing the color of his emotions, frowned slightly. She couldn't tell what the distraction was, only that his feelings were jumbled and confused at the moment, and that he was enjoying the sensation.

"Robin. You need a clear head for this."

The part of his face that was visible turned a color that was somewhere between a tomato and a fire engine, causing Raven to raise an eyebrow and Bruce to hide a smile.

"I don't know what you were thinking about, there's no need to be embarrassed."

He scowled, the color fading from his cheeks until they were only tinged slightly with pink.

"I'm perfectly focused."

She didn't press the subject, but instead suppressed her curiosity along with every other emotion as she settled into the state preceding meditation. Batman gestured to a wide open space in the cave, one that wasn't surrounded by high tech equipment or computer screens.

"Alfred set up the candles the way you requested."

Raven nodded her thanks and hovered over to the circle. Robin followed her, glancing around at the candles with some curiosity. He had never seen Raven work magic before, let alone been a part of it. Batman, for his part, melted into the shadows, but kept a watchful eye on the proceedings. First, Raven pulled a small pouch from the belt around her waist and scattered dust around the circle. Seemingly at will, the candles burst into flame, lighting the dust motes that hovered in the air with a multifaceted brilliance. The shadows cast by the candles rose higher as Raven settled into a cross legged position, folding her limbs so that her forearms were crossed over her chest. Robin, as he had been instructed, sat cross legged across from Raven, and immediately felt an invisible force beneath him lifting him off the floor until he was at Raven's level.

She pulled a leather-bound book from under her cloak and shut her eyes.

"Azarath metrion zynthos…carizon rafilshoss enderan…vaseric sendrian azarath! Azarath…AZARATH!"

Robin too had shut his eyes and tried to settle his mind into meditation, but Batman, watching from the shadows, saw the blinding blue light that rose from Raven's circle. He saw the flame of the candles rise up and mingle with the shadows as if they were alive. And he saw the portal of swirling energy that opened above Raven's head. In the next moment, both Raven and Robin had vanished through the portal, leaving the cave completely intact, but the area where they had been still shimmered with energy.

When Robin opened his eyes, it was to find himself in a tube composed of shimmering, multifaceted energy. He was being propelled upward by the same invisible force that had made him hover back in the bat cave. Raven was holding his hand firmly in her own, pulling him up through the shimmering threads of light that snapped and crackled around them. Her eyes were fixed upwards, as was her free hand, and Robin soon discovered why.

As they sped towards what he had assumed was the sky, the walls around them began to glow red, along with Raven's eyes. Tightening his grip on her hand, he felt her skin go icy cold.

"You can't keep me out, daddy dear."

Her muttered voice was laced with anger as a ball of glowing white light enveloped her outstretched hand and crept down her arm. A portal had appeared overhead, one that had a beautiful, intricate symbol carved into its glowing surface. As they approached, however, it began to glow red, sending flaming pieces of debris around their head. With a grunt, Raven pulled him sharply to one side, narrowly avoiding the falling shrapnel.

Their collision with the portal was violent and sudden. It knocked the breath out of both of them, but Raven especially seemed affected as her white energy collided with the swirling red vortex that was trying to puncture her defenses. Robin, clinging to her hand, felt intense cold, then intense heat, flashing in a dizzying rhythm against his senses. Raven glanced at him.

"Get a…handhold somewhere. I…have…to let go."

Alarmed at the pain in her voice, he shot a grappling hook into the portal that was refusing to open for them. As soon as he was secure, Raven let go of him and pressed her other hand against the door. Slowly, a gap appeared in what Robin now recognized as flames. When it was wide enough for a person to get through, Raven looked at him.

"Go."

He shook his head.

"You first."

She glared at him.

"I can re-open this portal. You can't. GO!"

Weighing his fear of her wrath against his concern for her safety, Robin launched himself through the opening, landing on his back against what felt like cobblestones. Dimly, he heard a tearing sound, then Raven's labored breathing beside him, and he rolled over to take in his surroundings.

Azarath had clearly been beautiful once. Graceful, arching architecture was punctured by winding cobblestone streets and buildings that were clearly temples. Every house had a balcony coupled with enormous windows and everything from the signs to the streetlamps were wrought out of a metal that he had never seen before. People could come and go through each other's windows thanks to the bridges that stretched overhead. Or at least, they could have had the entire city not been in flames.

Raven, who had straightened to her feet beside him, lowered her gaze and wrapped her arms around herself. Her voice was heavy and tired when she spoke.

"Welcome to Azarath."

* * *

chinaluv: Haha me too. They definitely have similar powers. Faith was one of my favorites in the comics, and I was always disappointed that we didn't see more of her.

Baka Breakdown: Thanks man! Hope you liked it. :)

Thanks so much for reading and following and reviewing n' stuff!


	18. Sunshine

Author's Note: I have made up everything in Faith and Raven's little teleportation ritual, none of it actually comes from the comics or the TV show. Hope you like it!

* * *

A chunk of a building fell near them, sending a cloud of ash and dust into the surrounding air. Robin winced and jumped, but Raven just looked at the offending brick, then enveloped it in black energy and fit it almost tenderly back into the wall it had come from. They walked down the street in silence for a little while, Robin not quite sure what they were looking for. Raven was as silent as the abandoned streets unless the falling shrapnel threatened them, in which case she stopped it with a wave of her hand, sometimes when it was just an inch above both of their heads. Eventually, Robin stopped reacting to the bricks and concrete falling around them; they became just another part of the landscape he was acclimatizing to.

Raven, on the other hand, began attacking the collapsing buildings with increasing savagery. Robin noticed that they were getting closer to the heart of the city, where an enormous citadel stood, its graceful spires reaching towards a pink and blue sky. It too, was wreathed in flame.

"What's that?"

It was the first question he had dared to ask, though thousands beat at his mind. Her answer was, as usual, monosyllabic.

"The temple."

Sensing his dissatisfaction with this answer, she elaborated, albeit reluctantly.

"Where I was raised. That's where the door is."

A fragment of memory from her diary flashed before his eyes, memories of a door that contained the purest evil Azarath was capable of producing. That was the door Juris had tried to throw an infant Raven into, and that was the door that had killed him on the spot for trying to hurt the 'gem'. Lost in his thoughts as he was, Robin didn't pay attention to where he was going, and stumbled over a stray cobblestone. That tiny disturbance was enough to cause the walls around them to sway ominously.

The bridge above their heads collapsed.

Robin looked up at the falling stones, some big enough to crush him, and mouthed a curse. There was no time to move.

They were falling, and then they were not; black energy had enveloped the entire bridge. Robin glanced at Raven. She had planted herself directly under the largest stone of all, hands extended above her head, face contorted with the effort. Without thinking twice, Robin dashed out from under the rubble, expecting her to follow. Instead, she stayed where she was, figure trembling with exertion, eyes glowing white.

"Raven, come on!"

It was as if she hadn't even heard him, her focus entirely devoted to returning the bridge to what it was once. As Robin watched, a few bricks settled back into place, but a few more crumbled to ash.

"Raven…?"

She didn't respond, and he swore violently before running back into the centre of the disturbance, grabbing her by the arm, and pulling her out of the pile of rocks that was rapidly falling outside of her control. She fought him all the way, but he managed to get them both out, throwing his body on top of hers to protect them from the rubble that fell in an impressively large heap a few feet away from them. Silence followed the bridge's collapse, and it was welcome to Robin despite its oppressively eerie nature. He was just breathing a sigh of relief when a black hand struck him in the chest, throwing him to the ground.

"Why did you do that? I could have fixed it."

She had risen to her feet just as fast as he had pushed her down, and was holding one hand in front of her like a loaded weapon. He got warily to his feet, taking tentative steps towards her.

"You couldn't have. You would have buried yourself."

Her hood was down, and there was a bloody scratch across one of her cheeks. Her eyes looked like those of a wild animal caught in a trap, but she didn't stop him as he came closer.

"No."

He closed the distance between them, not taking his eyes off hers.

"You can't fix this, no matter how much you want to."

"But I could have!"

"I don't think so. I don't think anyone could have, Raven."

She lowered her arm, and he edged closer, reaching up to pull his mask off.

"I saved earth. I could have saved Azarath."

"Nobody could have saved Azarath."

As soon as she was within reach, he did what he had wanted to do since this whole thing started. He grabbed her and pulled her into a hug, resting his chin on top of her head and bracing himself for the explosion that he expected. There wasn't one. Instead, there was Raven, her hair spilling onto his shoulder as she lowered her head and reached up to grasp his cloak with both hands.

"I could have. I could have."

She repeated the phrase like a mantra, shaking like a blade of grass trembling in the wind. He tightened his grip on her, feeling tears drip onto his chest.

"I'm sorry."

Unsurprisingly, her tears were silent, but no less violent because of it. Her anguish was carved into the taut lines of her body, in the way she clenched her hands around his cloak, in the black energy that crackled around her feet. He didn't say anything, just kept his arms firmly locked around her shoulders, allowing the warmth of his body to seep into her cold skin until she took a deep, shuddering breath and released her grip on his cloak. They stayed locked together while the rise and fall of her breathing returned to normal and her heartbeat slowed. He pulled away first, brushing a few tears from her cheeks with one gloved hand.

Words seemed redundant at this point, but the silence between them was rapidly becoming awkward.

"You going to be okay?"

Stuck somewhere between embarrassment and gratitude, Raven nodded, not trusting her voice just yet. Robin smiled grimly, reclaiming his role as team leader, albeit in a roundabout fashion.

"Okay, chief. What now?"

Raven struggled visibly for a moment, then managed to pull herself together and summon black energy that did nothing but pull her hood up over her face.

"I need to guide the others here."

She was not looking forward to the prospect. Faith, unlike her, was truly psychic. She could sense thoughts rather than feelings. Neither of them could get the full picture of a person, but Faith was much closer than Raven, since she could zero in on specific thoughts that were indicators of certain emotions. And Raven didn't want Faith poking around in her head, especially right now. With that in mind, she invested in some meditation before trying to establish a mental link.

_"I don't see why we can't just destroy them all."_

That was Rage. A long time ago, the monks had used a combination of magic and meditation to give shape and form to Raven's emotions, which allowed her to better govern them. It had been a risky procedure, and an exquisitely painful one, but it had been successful. Raven was even grateful for it sometimes, though it did make her mental landscape somewhat unbalanced, and she constantly teetered on the edge of developing Dissociative Identity Disorder. Even so, that was preferable to the madness that would result from her emotions running wild.

Rage was especially prevalent at the moment, but she and Timid were balancing each other out nicely, with Timid sobbing quietly in a corner while Rage ranted. As Raven landed on one of the many floating rocks in her mind, she took in the scene carefully. The black birds that sometimes nested here were elsewhere, which was a good sign that she suspected had something to do with Robin. Even so, the endless black void that surrounded the cliff-faces and hunks of bare, grey rock, were specked with red stars that danced and glowed as Rage yelled at Timid. Neither of them had gained dominance as of yet, which allowed Raven to banish them both to their respective domains with minimal difficulty. Timid sank into the ground, and Raven was vaguely aware of her reinforcing the walls of her maze. Rage, on the other hand, disappeared in a much flashier way. A haze of red sparks surrounded her and all the stars were completely extinguished before popping back up with their usual white brilliance. Raven winced as she saw what Rage was doing, and averted her usually omniscient gaze as she turned to her other emotions. The only one left that was an active threat was Sadness.

Sadness was harder to combat, since none of the other emotions liked to challenge her when she was in this state. The midnight blue of her cloak was startlingly close to Raven's ordinary color, and she was twice the size of the other Ravens, who sat huddled on the rocky ground of her mental landscape. She wasn't angry; individual emotions were incapable of being more than they were, but she was raining tears the size of snow globes down on the ordinarily dry rock, flooding it with rivers that swept a cursing Courage off into the darkness below. Raven caught the green-cloaked version of herself before she disappeared; she didn't want courage to desert her entirely, especially now. After sending Courage back to her forest, Raven hovered up to where the currently unruly one was and grabbed her by the back of the cloak, straining with all her might to bring her down to normal size. Even when she had shrunk down, Sadness was difficult to wrest into place, but to Raven's astonishment, a ghostly Robin-figure materialized to help her.

_Oh I hope he never finds out about this, _Raven thought as the not-Robin took Sadness by the hand and led her gently over to a rock before they both disappeared. After that, Happy giggled behind her hand and Wisdom arched a knowing eyebrow, which Raven ignored as she flew around, subduing her various emotions until her consciousness had settled into the plane of calm meditation. Only then did she settle cross-legged on the rock that was closest to the entrance portal and shut her eyes. Establishing a mental link was exceedingly difficult, especially when the other side of it was in a different dimension. After fifteen minutes of real time, Robin, who had settled into a sitting position across from Raven's hovering form, saw beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

Finally, Raven sensed Faith's voice; sarcastic, but reluctantly impressed.

_Good job. Wasn't sure you had it in you, Sunshine._

Raven scowled mentally.

_Why do you call me that?_

She felt amusement on the other end.

_Because it suits you so well. Hang on a minute, will you? I need to establish contact._

Raven sighed and lowered the carefully constructed barriers that were usually present in her consciousness, allowing Faith access. To her chagrin, her suppressed emotions were still lending a color to the cliff faces of her mind, a color that Faith picked up on readily.

_That bad, huh?_

Her voice was unusually serious, gentle even.

_That bad._

_Anything salvageable?_

Raven stopped for a moment to check that Sadness was still at bay.

_No._

_Sorry, kiddo._

It seemed to be a genuine statement; the emotions flowing across their mental link consisted mainly of sympathy and sadness. There was a long pause. Robin, watching, saw a slight flutter in the aura that had enveloped Raven's body.

_Thanks._

After another brief pause, Faith returned to her usual brisk tone, perhaps sensing that Raven was unwilling – or unable – to pursue the topic further.

_Coming through._

Raven sensed a strain in her voice, then pain in her mental link before Faith appeared on the rock in front of Raven's incorporeal form. She gaped at the landscape around her; at the bare, grey rock, the inky sky dotted with stars, the vortexes that swirled beneath her feet, and the black birds that were circling overhead, cawing in indignation at the intruder in their domain. Faith, placing her hands on her hips, surveyed Raven frankly.

"You have quite a mind, kiddo."

Raven opened her eyes and lowered herself to the ground.

"Thanks."

Faith, turning in a slow circle, shook her head.

"Wasn't a compliment."

Raven sighed and folded her arms across her chest.

"Well if it's all the same to you, my strange mind would like you out as soon as possible."

Faith, ignoring Raven completely, was examining the rock, rubbing some between her fingers as her sharp eyes took in everything that she was seeing.

"Someone has tampered with this. Nobody's mind is this developed…or this controlled."

She was right, but Raven was in no mood to share her past with yet another person snooping around, let alone one she'd only met two days ago.

"Can we please just get the others here now?"

Her voice was civil, but it was taking some effort for her to keep it that way. Faith straightened up, crossing the space between them in two strides.

"I am not leading your friends into the same trap that I just walked into. What _exactly _is going on here? Are you something that's taken over Raven's mind? Is she on autopilot? What have you done with her?"

For the first time, Raven saw Faith's humor dissipate, leaving a cold efficiency in its wake. Despite her annoyance, she made an effort to see from the older woman's perspective, and took a deep breath.

"Nobody has taken over my mind, Faith. It has to be this way. _I _have to be this way. What you see here was done when I was very small, to prevent me from destroying the world with a temper tantrum. Now can we _please _get on with it?"

Faith looked at her for a long moment, dark eyes dancing with a perplexed sort of anger.

"Nobody volunteers for something like this."

Raven turned away, lifting her hood.

"I didn't volunteer."

She had never experienced this kind of a reaction before, but then, she had never hosted a psychic in her mind before.

"I'll say you didn't, Sunshine. Somebody did this to you. And when you were a _kid. _Jeezus."

Raven shrugged.

"I'm half-demon. There are consequences. Besides, the monks were gentle."

To her intense relief, Faith dropped the subject after another searching glance.

"I guess I'll have to take your word for it. Nice place you got here, though, no matter how it was built."

"Damn straight! Now get out, or I'll kick your butt from here to Mexico!"

Raven took a deep breath through her nose.

"Courage, get out of here."

"Nah, I don't think so. You need me; you're letting this lady trample all over you."

Faith, who had been watching the proceedings with her mouth hanging open, looked from Normal Raven to Green-cloaked Raven and managed another sarcastic quip.

"I like this one Sunshine, why don't you keep her around?"

Raven rolled her eyes as she grabbed Courage by her hood and dragged her to a suitable point of disappearance.

"Go talk to Wisdom. If you still think we need to kick her butt after that, I'll give you free reign."

Muttering under her breath, the unruly emotion vanished, leaving Raven to face a psychic that was now even more intrigued than she had been before, but also less suspicious.

"Why do I feel like being in here for too long is bad for my health?"

Raven allowed one corner of her mouth to lift slightly.

"If you get my friends here, you can leave without a scratch."

Faith straightened into a mock military salute.

"All righty, Sunshine, but I'm not done asking questions."

With that, she shut her eyes, clearly about to begin the teleportation process. Raven's mind was just the focal point for her, kind of like a GPS tracking signal. In terms of physical location, she was still on Earth, though not for very much longer. As Raven watched, blinding violet light began to radiate from the woman in front of her. She felt a surge of power so vast that it knocked the wind out of her, then snapped out of meditation in time to see Faith, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg tumble out of a portal of the same violet light and into her home. Faith was the first to recover, dusting her hands off on the gleaming metal of her suit before clambering to her feet.

"Isn't there a demon to fight somewhere around here?"

Raven nodded a greeting to her friends, then turned sharply and made for the temple that arched above their heads, feeling her emotions fighting against the cages she had placed around them as she led the small raiding party to what was now her father's domain.

* * *

YEAH almost done (ish) unless I decide to extend the story, which I might do because I'm really enjoying writing it...hmmmmmm

chinaluv: Thanks! :) Yeah, Raven's life kinda sucks at the moment...

Luna Storm13: Awww thank you! I'm glad you like it.


	19. Ambush

Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay, guys! I had exams, then was without internet. Ugh. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Robin was used to their surroundings by this point, but Faith and the others gaped at the surrounding architecture and jumped at the debris that rained around their heads as they made their way to the temple. Raven ignored them for the most part, unless it was to shield them from the occasional piece of flaming shrapnel. Starfire exchanged a worried glance with Cyborg as a brick hurtled towards them, glanced off an ebony shield, and flew thirty feet in the other direction. Faith was the only one who had the courage to say anything, but it was mostly meaningless chatter, something Raven actually appreciated as it cut through the silence that was rapidly forming around their little group.

"You know, I've never been to another dimension before. Other planets, sure, but this is interesting. You come from a pretty wacked out place, Sunshine."

Starfire, seizing conversation like a lifeline, caught up with Faith's unusually long stride.

"I too come from a different world. But it is mostly intact."

She cast a sad look at the deserted, charred streets.

"This world has seen grate evil, and has not survived it."

Beast Boy, who was flying overhead in the form of an eagle, morphed back into human shape to join the conversation.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

Starfire looked puzzled for a moment, but held back the inquiry that she would normally have made as Cyborg piped up from behind them.

"I'm picking up signals from the city center. There's something weird about that place."

Raven, who was walking ahead of them, spoke over her shoulder.

"That would be the citadel. The door to every evil in the universe is housed there. That's where my father is currently enthroned."

Cyborg lowered the arm that he'd been frowning at and rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of how to respond. Her voice was, as usual, devoid of inflection, but he sensed a grim sort of determination in her tone that made him – and everyone else for that matter – nervous.

"Oh. Right. That…would make sense."

Robin wasn't paying attention to conversation; he was too busy checking his utility belt and rewiring one of his grappling hooks. Faith was watching with interest.

"So you don't have any powers?"

He glanced at her.

"No."

"Huh. Figures. Old Batty didn't want anybody too threatening to train."

Robin had to suppress a smirk at that, despite the thinly veiled insult. Few people knew Batman well enough to say something like that about him.

"So what kind of powers do you have?"

Faith's slight smile became a full blown grin.

"I don't really know. I'm a super powerful psychic, but not a telekinetic like your little friend over there. I work mostly with energy."

Robin glanced at her suit.

"Oh, yeah, that keeps me from ripping myself apart. My power's pretty hard to handle sometimes. Once destroyed half the east coast."

"Last time I checked, it was intact."

Faith smiled.

"Alternate universe, apocalypse, long story. Look out."

She was so conversational that it took a minute for Robin to process her warning. They had been following Raven through a maze of streets that only she seemed to be able to navigate. Small alleyways punctured many of the brick walls around them, and caves interrupted much of the Venetian style architecture. A rush of fire demons were streaming out of one of said caves, and a flaming hand struck Robin in the chest, throwing him up against the opposite wall. Raven turned, eyes blazing, but was confronted with such a scene of chaos that she was unable to determine where she was needed. Every Titan was being ambushed from a different side, and moving so fast that there was no way into the fray.

Robin had recovered fairly quickly and was severing heads with his staff, seemingly impervious to the heat as he kicked and jabbed at his opponents. Cyborg had somehow rewired his arm into a hose and was blasting streams of water into the sea of demons. When he caught Raven looking, he grinned.

"I remembered the last time. Thought this might come in handy!"

Raven gave him a half smile and turned her attention to the others, who were having more trouble. Beast Boy had caught the brunt of the onslaught and curled up in armadillo form to protect himself from the fire that was scorching the already crumbling cobblestones. Even as Raven watched, Faith dashed to his side, violet energy crackling around her. After a moment, it became apparent that Starfire was the one who really needed help; she was trapped against the wall of a building, shooting starbolts that were less than effective against beings who were incorporeal. Raven, hastily focusing, smoothed her mind into fighting mode and hovered up the wall, attacking the demons surrounding Starfire from behind.

"Daddy dear getting worried?"

The demons were of course, insubstantial, but it still gave her satisfaction to exhibit her bravery to them. She was a whir of motion in the next instant, enveloping her attackers in black energy and tossing them against the wall, where they vanished in small puffs of flame.

After ten minutes, however, everyone's energy was flagging. Robin parried a blow from one demon, beheaded another, and ducked under the stream of flame that issued from their mouths, panting. Sweat was dripping down his face from behind the mask, his muscles were aching, and he had been unable to avoid a few small injuries that twinged as he fought. He glanced around in desperation; everything was chaos. Faith was holding one demon up by the throat as she blasted its kinsmen away with her mind, but the lines around her mouth were more clearly defined than before and a fine trembling had overtaken her limbs. Even her energy wasn't infinite. Cyborg, checking his power cell, looked worried, and Beast Boy had turned into the Beast out of sheer desperation. The scene was eerily similar to the first apocalypse, the one on earth.

The only way that had ended was with Raven sacrificing herself. Even as the thought crossed Robin's mind, her flat voice sounded behind him.

"Enough."

Quiet and monotone though it was, her tone was laced with power, and the fighters paused for an instant to look at her. She had risen above the battle, black energy streaming out from behind her cloak. In one quick, decisive motion, she lifted both arms above her head, enveloping the buildings on either side of the narrow alley in darkness.

"Everybody out."

Faith and the Titans, somewhat to Robin's surprise, reacted without objection or protest. They fled the alley, shaking off the demons that tailed them with relative ease, with the exception of Starfire, who was still fighting an attacker as she broke out into what looked like a courtyard with the others. Robin paused to watch Raven. As soon as everybody was in relative safety, she brought both hands down in a chopping motion so that her wrists were crossed over her chest. The result was complete and utter destruction. The buildings collapsed, burying the fire demons in a heap of brick and rubble. The noise was deafening. Robin and the other Titans covered their ears as the harsh sound of bricks cracking split the air, piercing the dead silence that had settled over Azarath. Then it was over. Raven, looking down at the wreckage, lowered her hood and there was a moment of quiet before the whole thing exploded. She was blasted out of the air and into the citadel wall before falling forward into the courtyard. None of the others were harmed; they were far enough out of range.

Robin dashed to her side, panic clawing at his chest. This was happening far too often recently. Only this time, Faith had beaten him to it and was grasping the empathy by one arm.

"You all right, Sunshine?"

Raven put a hand to her head and straighten up.

"Fine. I was shielded."

Cyborg strode over to what was now just a charred hole in the ground.

"Are they…dead?"

Raven shook her head.

"They can't be killed, but they have been…extinguished. I was foolish not to expect a guard. I'm sorry."

Beast Boy, who was clutching one shoulder, managed a smile.

"Hey, it's all right. None of us were prepared."

Robin put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wasn't your fault."

Vague agreement came from all the other Titans, except for Starfire. Raven looked up sharply.

"Hang on. Where's Star?"

The others looked around, suddenly panicked until they heard a faint moan behind them.

"Here. I am…here."

She was lying on the ground, some feet behind them, covered in burns. Raven shut her eyes at the sight, unwilling to believe that flesh could look like that. The others had rushed to the alien's side in an instant, and were now kneeling around her. Robin looked down at Starfire, feeling a mixture of guilt and pity as he looked at her injuries. He was team leader. He was supposed to prevent this.

"Star…what happened?"

She coughed.

"I was…unable to fight them…they have powers too similar to my own. I am…vulnerable to this kind of attack."

"Stand back. Give her some space."

The others obeyed, allowing Raven to step forward and lift Starfire onto a platform of black energy and carry her through the enormous double doors and into the citadel. Robin's first thought was that it was beautiful. Unlike the rest of the city, this place remained undamaged. Huge, vaulting ceilings covered marble floors and finely wrought archways, through which various rooms were visible. The entire place had an aura of calm and beauty that felt like a warm balm after the heat of battle. Raven led them briskly down a side hall, moving with purpose until they came to a series of carved wooden doors. Through one of them was what had clearly been a hospital wing a long time ago, but was now a deserted room with several beds in it. Artificial sunlight streamed through an orb suspended from the ceiling, lighting everything in a soft, calm glow. Raven deposited Starfire gently on a bed directly underneath the orb, careful to place her on her back.

"This orb has healing powers that augmented those of the priests in Azarath. This hospital wing very rarely saw death. Pilgrims came from all over to experience its miracle. This was where the monks brought my mother."

She didn't look at any of them while she spoke, instead gently removing Starfire's cuffs and boots. When she had done a brief assessment of her injuries, she turned her fathomless eyes on the rest of them, who were assembled around the bed, wearing varying expressions of awe.

"All right. Those of you that need healing, find a bed. That means you, Beast Boy."

Grumbling under his breath, he complied, along with Robin.

"Faith and I will help you. After that, we'll start through the citadel. This whole place is probably booby trapped. He's blocking my teleportation too."

Faith looked mildly surprised.

"Ummm, maybe you missed the memo, Sunshine, but I'm no healer."

Raven looked at her blankly, revealing some of her exhaustion for the first time since the battle.

"Well I can't do it alone, so you'd better be willing to learn."

Above them, a roar shook the building, making them wince and glance up to where Trigon was now enthroned. Raven didn't remove her eyes from Faith's.

"Learn fast."

* * *

Luna Storm13: Can't remember if I've responded to you already...hmmm...whatever. Thanks man!

toastedCroissants: Lol sorry to get behind on posting! And thank you. I like having a regular reviewer, makes me happy. :) I'm so glad you like it enough to keep coming back.

chinaluv: I plan on it, though it's been a bit slow recently. :) Glad you like it!

Areviewingperson: ...ooops. Glad you liked it though!

raven leveau: Hmmm...not a fan of Batman, but I do like Catwoman. Mebbe after this story's done I'll think about it? Glad you liked it. :)


	20. Obstacle Course (Pt 1)

**Author's Note:** This was going to be the last chapter, but it felt super hurried so I extended it.

*Also, for those who have been asking: I used the Titans from the show, the back stories from the comics, and the other characters from the DC universe. So Raven hasn't (and won't) take Azarath into her mind, and Batman and Faith don't have a pre-established relationship with any Titans but Robin.

* * *

Raven sat cross-legged on the bed and leaned against the wall, allowing her eyes to drift shut for a moment as she waited for sleep to claim her. They were spending the night in the hospital wing. It was risky, but far less risky than wandering through the endless maze of hallways and fighting off Trigon's ambushes while they were all dead on their feet. Even Faith had admitted exhaustion after a brief conference, mostly revolving around the still-unconscious Tamaranian. She would be fine. Raven had been mildly astonished when she had probed into her teammate's healing capabilities. Not only was Star strong, but it was nearly impossible to kill her. She had been badly injured, but many of her burns were already half-healed by the time Raven – and an apprehensive Faith – had even begun. In the end, Raven had given her the magical equivalent of a sedative to help with the pain and merely allowed Starfire's own healing process to be accelerated by the monks' inventions.

Beast Boy had been another matter. After a brief inspection, Raven had discovered a burn in his shoulder bad enough to have melted torn pieces of his suit into his skin. He had made a joke about it, but the humor was somewhat negated by the pain in his face and his voice. Raven had simply rolled her eyes before placing one hand over the wound, healing it easily. Now, she found herself remembering the first time she had healed Garfield with some fondness. She wished they were still fighting the Hive Five, or even Slade. All of their old enemies seemed far less threatening when you were facing evil itself. Again. With a barely audible sigh, Raven gave up on even entertaining the idea of sleep. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she hovered to the door so as not to wake any of her friends. A voice interrupted her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Robin was awake too, albeit maskless and with slightly tousled hair. Putting a finger to her lips, Raven drifted sideways out of the door, shutting it softly when Robin followed her.

"I wasn't going to confront my father alone, if that's what you're thinking."

Robin ran a hand through his hair, looking rueful.

"You've done it before."

"Point taken."

She sighed and lowered herself to the floor, wrapping her cloak more securely around her body to keep out the night air.

"I just couldn't sleep."

Robin glanced at the ceiling, where a fine series of cracks had begun to appear.

"I don't blame you. You sure we're safe in there?"

She glanced back at the door.

"I've placed wards around it, and it's consecrated, so Trigon shouldn't be able to exist there without significant pain. I don't think he'll want to enter, but if he tries, we'll be warned. At the very least."

She turned, heading for the entrance hall and Robin followed, still entranced by the marble archways and the furniture that looked more like a sculptural installation than furniture. When they reached the broad, delicate staircase that led out into the ruined city, Raven sank to the ground and sat, hugging her knees to her chest. Robin sat beside her. Three years ago, he wouldn't have tried that, but he had gotten good at reading her body language. They understood each other without words now. Mostly.

"How are you doing?"

She glanced at him, then away too quickly for him to read her eyes.

"I wasn't injured."

"That's not what I meant."

She sighed.

"What do you want me to say, Robin? Ten thousand people died, fifty of whom were my friends and family. How would you feel?"

Her voice wasn't passionate and her tone was even, but Robin could still feel grief radiating from her.

"I want you to say what you feel instead of hiding it. Just for a start."

Raven smiled wryly at that, tilting her head back to look at the stars, still present and dancing in the night sky. There was even a moon here, but it was pink instead of the pearly white she was now used to.

"Hiding or compartmentalizing?"

He didn't answer, just watched her averted profile and tried not to admire the way the moonlight reflected off of her pale skin. Eventually, she met his gaze.

"I feel sad and angry because they didn't have to die. I feel lost, because even the monks can't protect me now. I feel confused, and worried that I won't be able to save my friends a second time. And I feel grief for the family I never had, the family that I dreamed about and for the loss of my mother."

He already knew all that. He had known it when he held her back at the entry portal, he had known that when he watched her fight, when he saw her healing Starfire. But knowing and saying were two very different things, and Raven, as she let out a long breath, felt that difference. He inched closer to her.

"Better?"

"A little."

Robin placed a hand over hers, winding their fingers together.

"Better?"

She smiled slightly and turned to look at him, a curtain of hair swinging over her shoulder and hiding part of her face.

"Thanks."

"All right, smoochies later. Now, get some rest."

Both Titans glanced behind them to where Faith was standing, both hands on her hips. Raven pulled her hood up, scowling and Robin rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Um…hey Faith."

The older woman raised an eyebrow.

"When I want to see hormones on parade, I blow up a high school. Inside. Now. We've got a big day tomorrow."

With a half glance at each other, they obeyed.

The next morning dawned cold and clear. Despite Faith's militaristic orders, Raven hadn't slept much. The other Titans, however, awoke feeling refreshed and at ease. Cyborg, checking his power cell, grinned in disbelief.

"I'm recharged! How'd that happen?"

Raven, trying very hard not to be jealous of his excess energy, levitated over to check on Starfire.

"The monks were well-versed in technology. Azarath was far from primitive, and there were electrical currents built into the healing wing to replenish robot citizens."

Gently, she shook Starfire's shoulder to wake her. The girl stirred, then sat up gingerly, putting a hand to her head.

"What has – I am…better?"

Raven ran a hand over various pressure points.

"You should be. I fixed everything I could find, and the healing orb is supposed to do the rest."

Starfire, having stretched out various limbs and found them intact, trapped Raven in a suffocating hug.

"Friend Raven, you have healed me! Oh thank you, I bring very sincere thanks."

The empath, struggling to breathe, managed a response through clenched teeth.

"Um…yeah…anytime. Look, Star…can't…breathe…"

"But you have given me cessation of pain! Surely, that deserves an extra-long hug!"

Robin, who had awoken at dawn for his usual workout routine, stopped doing pushups to laugh at Raven, who was slowly going blue in the face. She managed to mouth 'Help' at him. Tempted though he was to let her suffer, he intervened.

"You know, Star, Faith helped too."

The alien released Raven – who collapsed on the nearest bed, massaging her ribs – and embraced Faith instead.

"And you, new friend, you have also restored my strength!"

Faith, having just woken up, winced.

"Almost wish I hadn't now. Shoulda known your hugs would be like your handshakes."

Raven straightened her cloak and glanced at Beast Boy, who was snoring loudly.

"Cyborg, think you can wake up your friend?"

Cyborg, who had been tuning his systems, paused to burp in Beast Boy's ear. Raven rolled her eyes, turning her back on the giggling duo as she addressed the team.

"I don't know what kind of resistance Trigon has set up for us, but it won't be easy. We can expect some more fire demons, and pretty elaborate booby traps too. My father likes to play games."

The flat deliverance of her monologue was enough to get all of the Titans to sit up and pay attention. Robin placed his mask over his eyes, mouth set in determination.

"Okay, Titans listen up. We need a plan of action. Cyborg, Faith, you two had the least trouble with those demons yesterday. I'm assigning you as defense. Your job is to protect any one you see in trouble, and that includes each other. Got it?"

Faith gave a terse nod and exchanged a fist bump with Cyborg, who grinned.

"Yeah, boss, we got it."

Robin turned to Starfire, looking slightly anxious.

"You sure you're okay?"

Uncharacteristically serious, Starfire nodded.

"I am healed."

"Okay then, I'd like you to be in the air. We need someone fighting above us in case the ground collapses. Can you stay flying for most of the battle?"

Starfire smiled.

"As long I have access to the joy of my people, I will be able to fly."

Robin allowed a brief smile to tug at the corners of his mouth.

"I know we can count on you to stay positive. Okay, that leaves me, Beast Boy, and Raven. We'll take the offensive. Raven, I want you in front. You'll be able to sense traps, and probably know how to respond to them. Beast Boy and I will follow your lead."

Beast Boy, fully awake now, sprang to his feet and pulled on his gloves.

"Let's do it."

Raven pulled her hood over her face, feeling her stomach contract with nerves despite her careful meditation.

"I like that plan, but when we get to Trigon, I'd like all of you out of the way."

Every Titan protested loudly, their voices overlapping in a cacophony that made her wince. Only Faith was quiet, her arms folded over her chest as she appraised Raven. Eventually she spoke up.

"Maybe we should listen to what Sunshine's got to say for herself before we freak."

Raven nodded her thanks.

"The last time we faced my father, he very nearly killed all of you. You're just toys to him…he'd kill you without a second thought. And he's more likely to kill you now that he knows how much I care about you."

The Titans exchanged uneasy glances, unwillingly touched by Raven's admission. She ignored them, continuing in her reasoning.

"The only thing that can touch Trigon is his own power. He gave that power to me, willingly or not. Having you nearby would be…distracting. I need to kill him this time."

Raven didn't leave any room for argument. When all of the Titans had given their unwilling consent, Raven led them out the doors of the hospital wing and into the main entrance of the citadel.

"The obstacles will hit us almost immediately. We should prepare for – "

Abruptly, the ground beneath her feet disappeared entirely and an inky black pit threatened to swallow her. Starfire, already in flight, reacted quickly by pulling Raven up and out of what was soon revealed to be lava. Raven dusted off her cloak and took to the air, hovering just an inch above the ground.

" – Surprises."

They proceeded, more cautious now as they made their way up a massive marble staircase and onto the second floor. Robin, looking around, found himself almost too tense to appreciate the beauty around him. Almost. It was hard not to notice when stained glass windows sent multicolored light shimmering prismatically against wood paneled walls and trees grew impossibly out of marble floors. It was the trees that turned out to be the next trap. They had just crossed into a hall that was mostly forest, when they all burst into flame at once, surrounding them in a ring of fire out of which demons sprang.

The fight was short, thanks to Robin's instructions. From above, Starfire finally had an advantage. Cyborg and Faith were instantly at the side of anyone in trouble, Raven extinguished the demons by smothering them in darkness, and Robin fought with his usual single minded intensity. When they had finished, the only one who had sustained injury was Beast Boy, who had a minor burn on his leg. When Raven offered to heal him, he refused, telling her to save her energy. Two more fire fights followed the first one, indicators of Trigon's stratagem. Panting slightly after the third fight, Robin pointed out that he was trying to wear them down.

Raven shook her head, eyebrows lowering into a fierce frown.

"Well let's kill them all, shall we?"

Settling into a cross-legged position, she beckoned them all closer. When they were standing around her, Faith (who had guessed Raven's plan right away), placed a shield over their heads, holding it in one hand and Raven's fingertips in the other. First, black energy enveloped the walls around them. Violet electricity followed, wreathing the darkness with a dizzying light show that crackled with power as every pipeline in the building exploded, showering the entire structure with high-pressured water. Around the shielded group, bricks tumbled from the ceiling, strangely colored water crashed in waves against the walls, and the screams of Trigon's fire demons echoed through the graceful halls. Eventually, the two telekenitcs lowered the barriers and their energies. Beast Boy was the first to speak in the deafening silence that followed.

"Are they dead then?"

Raven looked around at the wreckage they had left behind them; at the charred stumps that had been trees, at the water damaged art that lined the hallways, at few shards that remained in the skeletons of stained glass windows, and bowed her head.

"They are. But so is the citadel."

* * *

chinaluv: Keeping the suspense up for a little longer ;)

N3v3rm0r311949: I get so happy when I read nice reviews like yours :D

SETI-fan: GAH this is such a great review! Thanks man! Wow, I'm very happy now, and I'm so glad you picked up on what I was trying to do with the characters.

Thanks everybody for reading!


	21. Obstacle Course (Pt 2)

Author's Note: Brace yourself for some angst, folks. :) Also, blood warning.

* * *

Trigon's retaliation was almost immediate, and more than unwelcome. It came in the form of hallucinations, which Raven had warned her friends about. The fact that she knew it was coming did nothing to negate her shock at seeing her mother's prone form in front of her. She stopped walking abruptly, wide eyes fixed on Arella, who was floating eerily in front of her like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Her long, violet hair, hung in straggly pieces around her gaunt face, her ripped clothing revealed bruises and burns, and her eyes – so like her daughter's – were shut. Beast Boy, who had been directly behind Raven, collided with her back and dropped to the floor.

"Hey! Watch it….Raven?"

She shook her head slightly, but otherwise gave no indication of hearing him. Robin, catching up with them frowned down at Beast Boy, who was rubbing his head.

"What's going on?"

"Don't ask me, dude. I don't see anything."

Faith strode around to face Raven, who was still immobile, and waved a gloved hand in front of her face.

"Hello? Sunshine, anybody home?"

Raven watched the gleaming metal hand slice through her mother's midsection without expression while the others caught up. Cyborg, who had been checking his sensors for warning of another trap, raised an eyebrow at Robin.

"What's up with her?"

Robin shrugged, not removing his eyes from the cloaked figure.

"Something's wrong. I can't figure out what, but we made Trigon angry."

Raven spoke then, her voice harsh and violent.

"All of you, listen to me. If you see people, if you see anyone at all, ignore it. It's not real. It isn't real, I promise you. You have to fight it."

The titans stared at her, nonplussed until walls slammed down around them, isolating them from each other. Reluctantly, Raven tore her eyes from the figure-that-was-not-her-mother and sat cross-legged on the ground. These were individual tests – Trigon was torturing all of them now, punishing them for costing him his minions. Every one of her friends had to fight their demons on their own. She couldn't help them. In fact, it was all she could do to help herself as Arella was replaced by Robin, then Azar, who looked at her with eyes that were huge with disappointment.

"I expected better, Raven."

Then she was stained, stained with blood that showered from a myriad of wounds that a child-Raven was inflicting, her giggles infecting air that smelled like death.

Robin was abruptly alone in a small dark room with a figure suspended from the ceiling. She was doing some kind of acrobatic show, dancing in midair with no sign of support. Fascinated, he drew closer, reaching for a boomerang in his belt.

"Uh…excuse me, do you know what's going on?"

The woman revolved to face him, and he recoiled instinctively, shaking his head. It was his mother, her face glittering with tears, body contorted strangely.

"No. You're dead."

Raven's words drifted across his mind like half-forgotten song lyrics. _"You have to fight it…it isn't real…it's not real…" _But she looked real, her eyes huge and sad, her dark hair spilling across her narrow shoulders, which were stained with blood. It was dripping in a bizarre slow motion down the side of her face, staining her costume and clotting in the sequins. And he was seven years old again, watching her die. He couldn't do it again, he couldn't. But he did. She fell like a doll, head flopping on a boneless neck when she hit the floor. His father followed. Then, when he was convinced that the worst was over, Batman was there, dressed in ordinary clothes for once.

"Your kicks are sloppy."

But he wasn't really looking at Robin, who watched in horrified fascination as his adopted father struggled with an invisible attacker who was slowly opening cuts on his chest and arms. His blood was brighter than his mother's had been; its volume was alarming. It was like a neverending nightmare for Robin as cuts became burns and matches became acid. Acid that burned through trapeze wires over and over and over.

There was one mistake, just one, but he seized it like a lifeline.

"My father's eyes were brown."

It was a whisper at first, but as he looked at the crumpled bodies on the floor, it grew to a shout.

"Brown! They were brown!"

And he kicked through Batman's head. The walls fell away, leaving him again in the wreckage of the citadel hallways with six teammates who were still in the grip of delusions that he couldn't begin to imagine. Raven was the only one awake and aware of her surroundings. She looked at him warily, as though afraid he too would be tortured in front of her. He gave a slight shake of his head, and she touched his hand in response.

"I'm sorry."

He cleared his throat, not trusting his voice just yet. Together, they crossed the hall to wait for their friends to awaken. Faith was, unsurprisingly, the next one awake, albeit entirely unlike herself. Her eyes, normally half-lidded and sardonic, were huge, and her face was devoid of color. Robin and Raven glanced at each other, both unwilling to speak to her just yet. She straightened up, brushing her hands together so that the metal of her suit screeched in a discordant harmony.

"Well at least I had fair warning."

She didn't seem to be speaking to anyone in particular, and the cracks in her voice completely contradicted the glibness that she had been going for. Raven ran a hand through her hair.

"Trigon is omniscient. He has access to all of our memories…and fears."

Faith shuddered and removed her gloves.

"Yeah, I figured."

She ran a hand over her face, shutting her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she glanced at the others, all of whom were still asleep.

"What do we do about them?"

Raven sighed.

"If they don't wake up soon, you and I can enter their minds, but I'd rather save our energy."

Faith smiled wanly.

"Speak for yourself, Sunshine. Demon guy just supercharged me."

Raven never admitted when she was intrigued, but she was glad when Robin pursued the enigmatic statement further.

"How?"

Faith shrugged.

"Any psychic interference adds to my little power stockpile."

She gestured toward the mass of translucent purple tubing that made up the midsection of her suit.

"Trigon is using enough power to keep me on my feet for days."

Raven raised an eyebrow, reluctantly impressed and Robin grinned.

"Wow."

Starfire woke up just then, tears streaming freely down her cheeks as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Raven took a half-step toward her, Faith pushed herself away from the wall, and Robin dashed to her side, gripping her arm.

"Star, you okay?"

Raven knelt in front of the Tamaranian, lowering her hood.

"It wasn't real."

Starfire nodded, wiping her eyes.

"I…became aware of that."

Robin was gentle as he sat beside Raven.

"What did you see?"

Starfire shook her head.

"Terrible things. Battles. My...my sister…and the Gordanians who sought to make me their slave. Captive to all of their desires."

She stopped talking there, casting her eyes at the ground. Raven, grasping the implications at once, felt a little sick. She remembered how angry Starfire had been when they found her, how far beyond reason she had been driven.

"Star, would you like to meditate with me?"

When the two girls had established themselves in a corner of the ruined hallway, Cyborg woke up, a muscle jumping in his jaw. He stayed on the ground, frozen in one position for long enough that Robin grew worried.

"Cyborg?"

When he received no response, he took a tentative step forward.

"Victor?"

In one fluid motion, Cyborg stood and put his fist through the nearest wall. He left it there for a moment, staring at the appendage as though it were suddenly completely foreign to him. Which, Robin reminded himself, it still was. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"It wasn't real you know."

Before he had time to breathe, Cyborg had grabbed him by the front of his suit and smashed him against the wall. He made no move to defend himself.

"Go ahead."

Cyborg didn't move.

"I didn't ever want to see that again."

Slowly, Robin reached up to remove his mask.

"Join the club."

A moment of silence passed, during which Faith edged around the pair of them, clearly wondering whether or not she had to step in. Robin met her gaze and shook his head slightly.

"You going to beat me up or what?"

Eventually, Cyborg released his grasp on Robin's suit, looking rueful.

"Sorry man."

"Not your fault."

They smiled briefly at each other, then engaged in a great deal of throat clearing and adjusting of uniforms, at which Faith snorted derisively.

"And that right there is why I date girls."

It was twilight by the time Raven and Starfire came out of their meditations, Star looking much calmer. When they rejoined the others, Beast Boy was still asleep. Raven glanced from his prone form to Faith, who nodded.

"My thoughts exactly."

Robin folded his arms across his chest.

"You know, nonverbal communication is probably standard for psychics, but the rest of us need a translation."

Raven gave him a forgiving glance.

"Beast Boy has been asleep for too long. If we want to salvage his mind, Faith and I have to enter it."

Cyborg, who was looking considerably more hollow-eyed than he had that morning, swore.

"Little asshole. He couldn't resist Mad Mod's mind control either."

Raven shook her head bleakly.

"This is much worse. Whatever he's reliving…it's his worst nightmare."

Five minutes later, she and Faith were standing on the surface of what looked like a fishing boat. Waves beat ruthlessly against the sides, lightning flashed dizzyingly in the sky, and water poured in from a hole in the hull. Raven knew instinctively that this boat wasn't going to last – but she also knew that Trigon could drag out this scenario for as long as he wanted.

"We've got to find Beast Boy. He's here somewhere."

She had to shout to be heard above the wind, but Faith's nod indicated her agreement. Together, they made their way down a narrow ladder that led below deck, where they found a tall, good looking man in a lab coat talking to a boy that could only be Garfield. Small for his age, his dark hair fell in disarray across his forehead. Raven guessed his age to be somewhere between eight and ten. He showed no awareness of either Raven of Faith, both of whom took in their surroundings warily.

"Go, Garfield. We'll be all right. Just go."

The child-Beast Boy looked from the man – who Raven assumed was his father – to a woman that had suddenly materialized, also dressed in a white lab coat.

"Don't go, Garfield. You know what is waiting for you. Stay with us. We live or die together. What is the alternative?"

Abruptly, a dizzying series of images danced across the scene, none of which Raven understood. First there was an African king, one who spoke in a gentle voice and offered condolences to a blank-eyed Garfield. Then there was a tomb, a maniacal laugh, a blinding avalanche, and yet another boat. There was a small shack, a dimly lit room, stolen money, and a slightly older Garfield being beaten by men whose faces were obscured. The images came faster after that. Yet another escape, a court room, a mansion, an adoptive father, more pain, more beatings, and a sense of suffocation. Eventually Raven could take no more.

"Enough!"

The images stopped, leaving them back on the boat with eight year old Beast Boy, who looked around confusedly for the source of the interruption. Impatiently, Raven pushed aside the images who she now knew to be his parents and sat cross legged in front of her friend.

"Faith, can you hold off the hallucinations long enough for me to talk to him?"

The older woman nodded grimly, then sat with her back to Raven, projecting an enormous shield, against which Trgon's influence pressed angrily.

"Garfield, listen to me."

The boy looked at her through eyes that were huge and childish and heartbreaking. Sternly, Raven banished pity from her mind.

"It's true that all that is in your future. But there is so much more. There are people who love you and protect you, there are friends, and I swear to God if we get out of this, there will be a moped."

Summoning her concentration, Raven poured her own memories into Garfield's mind, memories of picnics and walks in the park and video games and Titan's Tower. She forced him to see laughter and sunshine and training. She watched them fight evil together, and instilled everything she gave him with the affection she felt for him. He was her younger brother, and she was _not _going to let Trigon have his mind. The young-Garfield looked at her for a handful of seconds, and then everything was chaos.

The boat wasn't there any longer, and neither was anything else. She was in a dark void, completely empty of light. Trapped.

Panicking, Raven reached blindly for her mental link with Faith. It took all her strength to turn away from the box Trigon was trying to place around her consciousness and guide herself back to her body, which was waiting for her like an anchor. She had never thought it would be good to see the ruined citadel again, but when she opened her eyes to find Garfield awake and Faith supporting her, she nearly wept out of sheer relief.

Slowly, Raven re-asserted control over her faculties and found her voice.

"How long was I out?"

Robin, who had been looking exceptionally anxious, ran a hand through his hair.

"Faith got back nearly five minutes before you and Gar did."

After a moment, Faith let go of her arm.

"Welcome back Sunshine."

Raven wasn't listening.

"Garfield?"

The changeling pushed himself into a sitting position, then staggered to his feet and half-ran around the corner. The sound of him retching was the only one in the echoing room for a few minutes, then Raven went after him. He was leaning against the wall, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes, when he lifted them to look at Raven, were haunted.

"Thanks."

She nodded briefly.

"You going to be all right?"

A shadow of his usual toothy grin flashed across his face.

"Think so."

Raven put her hood back up, concealing her relief.

"Good. We need you."

* * *

chinaluv: Aye aye, Captain!

toastedCroissants: Hope it lived up to expectations. :)

X-Deyoxis-X: Aw, thanks for reviewing! And postponing sleep. Glad you liked it!

Thanks for reading errybody!


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